Justmeans Articles and Editorialhttp://justmeans.com/fmrs-and-feed-items
enIndigenous Apparel: A Love-Making Fashion Companyhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/indigenous-apparel-a-love-making-fashion-company
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Indigenous_4.jpeg"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/resize/inline/u00191/Indigenous_4-478x300.jpeg" style="width: 478px; height: 300px;" width="478" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means) — This is not just another story about an organic, fair trade clothing line. Yes, Indigenous is a luxury, ethical fashion B Corp that weaves low-impact dyes, organic fibers and fair trade wages into every piece. But this is a story about a community loving another; a company seeking balance for their spirits and the spirits of all beings. I guess you could call this a love story.</p>
<p><u>Love is Listening</u></p>
<p>Before Scott Leonard, the CEO of Indigenous, ever decided to start a high-end, ethical fashion company, he decided to understand the needs of the women in economically marginalized communities. The goal wasn’t to bring his idea of what the ethical consumer wanted and then employ women in developing worlds to craft it. His goal was to support the artisanal craft of women by nurturing their talent and skills so that they could design a line which could make an appearance in Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue--- so that he could dictate a higher wage for them. For 22 years, Leonard has been listening. Recently, he took a journey, 12,000 feet into the Andes. What he saw was that the higher wages were preserving culture.</p>
<p>“One of our key partners, Mr. Rohas and his family, told me that the work we are providing is 100 percent allowing for cultural preservation as well as preservation of a talent and skill in weaving. So, are we changing some of the patterns and expecting a higher quality? Yes. Are we leaving an intact skill? Yes. Are we creating a viable income stream so that artists can live in their villages, 4,000 feet high in the Andes? Yes. People who don’t want to move to Lima. They’d rather be with their culture because it’s who they are. I saw that our model is helping to guide the balance of the old and new world,” Leonard told me.</p>
<p>It’s their commitment to the yin and the yang. The team at Indigenous is deeply centered to honor women: Peruvian women who hold generational stories of the looms in their hands and the working women in Soho who display a new wave of feminism in their office apparel. Loving both the expressions of feminism, the traditional and the emergent in one expression, held in balance through a practice of listening.</p>
<p><u>Love is Balance</u></p>
<p>Two to four times a month, the entire team at Indigenous pauses. They step away from their desks, turn off the lights and practice yoga together. Breath. Movement. Refocus. This is not a trend they are trying out or building into their California brand. Daily communal yoga reminds the Indigenous team of their higher purpose and invites balance.</p>
<p>“It’s so easy to get swept away by the fashion industry. We have to hit constant deadlines. We have to operate quickly and make it to Fashion Week. There’s this idea that we must keep it up on all fronts. The world doesn’t stop. But, we need to stop and share the same breath. We do this each day to ground ourselves. It’s so easy to get stuck behind the desk or normal transaction and forget how much impact we are making,” says Leonard.</p>
<p>Perhaps it’s this practice of balance which presents itself in their handmade, luxury apparel. Indigenous clothing is the both/and. Both high-end: check out their Boiled Wool Side Zip Coat with textured patterns from a blend of alpaca and wool. And hand-woven together by fairly paid artisans. As in, hand-knit, hand-stitched, woven together by hand on a loom. Forgive me for the drama, but this commitment to balance and to loving artists deserves a dramatic celebration.</p>
<p><u>Love is Action</u></p>
<p>Listening creates balance and balance allows for powerful action. This holiday season Indigenous is offering you an easy way to create a “Holiday with A Purpose.” 12 handcrafted products. All retail profits from 12 handcrafted styles go to Global Fund for Women", a badass nonprofit fighting for gender equality. Or if you’re moved to love in action through your love for our Mother Earth, you can partner with them to support 5 Gyers to rid the oceans of plastic. They have an entire line you can order and 100 percent of the profits go back to 5 Gyers. When you choose to use your consumption power to end violence against women and keep plastics out of our intricate oceans, you choose love. Love in action.</p>
<p>This is the love story of Indigenous. A company with listening, balance and action at its core.</p>
<p>I invite you to step into this love story with me, with Indigenous during your holiday season and always. Support women this <a href="https://indigenous.com/collections/holiday-with-purpose">Holiday with A Purpose.</a> Create more oceans and less plastics through <a href="https://indigenous.com/collections/5gyres">5 Gyers</a> and this cool line. Read the story of <a href="https://indigenous.com/">Indigenous.</a></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/undefined">undefined</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - 6:00pm</span></div></div></div>Wed, 15 Nov 2017 22:54:49 +0000Julie Fahnestock149276 at http://justmeans.comRamblers Way is Sustainable Clothing Made in the USAhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/ramblers-way-is-sustainable-clothing-made-in-the-usa
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.mainebiz.biz/storyimage/MA/20150112/NEWS0101/150109961/EP/1/1/EP-150109961.jpg" style="width: 624px; height: 390px;" />(3BL Media/Justmeans) — My father’s mother, Grandma Hazel, was a modest, practical woman. Truth be told, as an adolescent I found her to be obnoxious, opinionated and stuck in her ways. (Twenty-five years later, and I’m pretty certain after a glass of wine or two, my inner circle may describe me with these same three words.) Her home was simply decorated, her fashion sense non-existent; she couldn’t care less about trends or technology. Every Christmas, she’d politely ask what I would like to receive. Eagerly, I crafted a detailed list of apparel and accessories: Adidas sneakers, tube tops and fringe vests from Urban Outfitters. Every Christmas, she routinely bought me boring, useful items like school supplies and savings bonds. She was polite for the sake of politeness; there was zero intention of indulging me in my “extravagant” requests.</p>
<p>“We owned two dresses,” she constantly reminded me. “One for church and one for school. Each dress had its own hook. We wore these dresses until the hem rose above the knee and then passed them to the next sister.” Every time she told this story, I rolled my eyes. Every time I rolled my eyes, she’d say,</p>
<p>“Someday you’ll understand the value of quality versus quantity.” Dramatic eye rolling proceeded again.</p>
<p>My grandmother passed away 15 years ago, but almost every time I consider purchasing a new dress or pair of shoes—or mostly anything—I hear her telling me this story. And I pause: Do I need this dress? Will it pill and fray in one season? Am I living my values with the purchase of this dress?</p>
<p>Ramblers Way, a new clothing line, pauses, too. When Tom Chappell, co-founder of Tom’s of Maine, decided to launch an apparel company, he proposed to form a values-driven company that my grandmother would have appreciated. Ramblers Way, a three-generation family company, pauses to consider quality, natural and human resources in every aspect of the supply chain, production and marketing. In fact, this is how they define themselves as a sustainable, apparel company. In an interview with Nick Armentrout, the Supply Chain Leader, I was reminded that there is hope for the infamously “dirty” fashion industry—but only if our personal orientation to clothing shifts. Ramblers Way should help with that shift.</p>
<p>“Traditionally, clothes were expensive, hand-made items that were treasured,” explains Armentrout. “The modern textile and apparel industries are large polluters and generators of post-consumer waste, in large part due to the push to create fast, cheap and disposable clothing. Discussions about sustainable textiles shed light on the hidden costs of cheap clothing—like the often harmful impact on people in the developing world. It is vital that clothing companies adopt emerging green textile technologies, and help develop solutions to their environmental impacts. Likewise, consumers need to demand greater accountability from brands and manufacturer.”</p>
<p>A 180 degree turn away from fast-fashion, Ramblers Way produces all of their clothing in America, with a close pulse on every stakeholder in the process. From how the sheep are cared for the wool that goes into their sweaters, to the use of sustainably grown, Californian Pima cotton, Ramblers Way rigorously pursues the higher road. They work with their suppliers to reduce environmental impact. For example, some of their partners use primary and secondary waste treatment facilities to return the water to natural bodies of water in accordance with all local and national (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) water treatment regulations.</p>
<p>Oh, and did I mention they are committed to transparency? Anyone in the apparel business will tell you this is an incredibly rare value choice. Not only do they have firsthand relationships with the ranches and factories across their supply chain, they are open about their journey. For example, Armentrout acknowledged that organic cotton is a more sustainable choice than Pima cotton. Organic cotton production uses less energy and water, helps sequester CO2 in the soil, and produces 94% less greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally grown cotton. Ramblers Way isn’t there yet, but they are working on it. They hope to build a 100% US supply chain for GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) certified, organic cotton. As a targeted conscious consumer, their transparency about “not being there yet and there are better choices” means just as much to me as does the organic cotton. This proves the integrity of the brand, the humanity of the journey.</p>
<p>The big, hairy audacious goal of Ramblers Way is be the leading sustainable apparel brand, always improving their practices, always learning to make beautiful, timeless clothing.</p>
<p>“The more we can do to advance responsible, accountable practices through our journey, the better,” says Armentrout.</p>
<p>If my grandma Hazel were still alive and still asking for my Christmas lists, I think she may have considered a dress from Ramblers Way a practical gift. And maybe, fifteen years later, I’d pause to ask myself if I even needed it in the first place.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ramblersway.com/about/our-commitment">Read the story</a> of the Ramblers Way supply chain. Pause first and then decide <a href="https://www.ramblersway.com/women/dresses-skirts">if you need</a> to buy a new dress. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ramblerswayfarm/">Get social</a> with them.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, August 4, 2017 - 6:00pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 04 Aug 2017 21:59:46 +0000Julie Fahnestock133616 at http://justmeans.comWhere Are You On the Spectrum? (Of Impact, That Is.) Inspiring Capital Defines the Shades http://justmeans.com/blogs/where-are-you-on-the-spectrum-of-impact-that-is-inspiring-capital-defines-the-shades
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55fb370fe4b0db762ef5e5bc/t/5604ed24e4b00d9e093d297b/1443487884181/DSC_0439.jpg?format=1500w" style="width: 754px; height: 500px;" />(3BL Media and Just Means)—Corporate social responsibility. Philanthropic giving. B Corps, employee-owned cooperatives, nonprofits, and all the models in between. The world of sustainability boasts more flavors than Baskin Robbins, more hues than a brilliant rainbow. As Nell Derick Debevoise, the founder and CEO of Inspiring Capital, has coined it, the expressions of sustainability in business are part of “The Spectrum of Impact.” </p>
<p>Derick Debevoise knows this firsthand. Her career has led her to experience this spectrum at many touch points. After she graduated from Harvard and spent a couple of years teaching English in Tokyo and France, Derick Debevoise moved to Italy to develop a network of international youth. She loved her work, but saw the inefficiencies of the United Nations and the World Bank and wanted to experience another impact model. </p>
<p>A startup, philanthropic opportunity for Derick Debevoise presented itself in Nablus, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. For five years, she developed an early childhood education program with a focus on mental health for children four to eight years old, the first of its kind in the West Bank. The model was successful at a local level, but Derick Debevoise knew real systems change depended on the economic inclusion of women. The program expanded and launched women-focused, micro-finance projects: a goat farm, a small PR firm. Although her team received a grant from the Blair Foundation, sustainable funding to scale impact was a challenge. Derick Debevoise was frustrated with the funding model and wanted to find a way to earn money for the children’s center and build the local economy. The founder of the project owned local real estate and the idea of opening a boutique hotel—specifically as a dedicated revenue stream for the philanthropic venture---developed.</p>
<p>However, despite their strong relationships with donors and politicians, there was zero access to risk capital for a boutique hotel in the West Bank in 2010. Derick Debevoise decided it was time for an MBA. She wanted to find a way to grow money, merge capital and scale impact. After moving back to the US and consulting in the impact investment space, in 2013 Derick Debevoise launched Certified B Corp, Inspiring Capital.</p>
<p>“The goal is to help you [nonprofits and philanthropic ventures] build earned income revenue models so you can have your own risk capital instead of writing grants,” says Derick Debevoise.</p>
<p>Inspiring Capital’s innovative approach began as a hyrbrid model of training and consulting: provide MBA students with meaningful, impact-focused consulting experience and grow the financial independence and impact of nonprofits. This approach emerged as most of the coolest businesses strategies do: by saying yes to opportunity. After hiring one MBA to support her launch Inspiring Capital, Derick Debevoise posted a summer intern application to MBA programs across the country. Within two weeks, over 72 applications were submitted from Harvard, Columbia and other programs from around the country. Derick Debevoise was determined to find a way to say yes to them all.</p>
<p>“We had a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, but you can’t grow a business with one client. We started to hustle. We needed clients,” says Derick Debevoise.</p>
<p>Four years later, Inspiring Capital has supported dozens of MBA students and worked with several dozen purpose-driven organizations including The American Red Cross, Goodwill and Girl Rising. It’s a win-win model. Universities subsidize the costs for the MBA student, costing the client a fourth of the expense for consultants to develop their revenue strategies. The second win? 70 percent of Inspiring Capital alumni go on to work in “The Spectrum of Impact” in nonprofits like Year Up, impact consulting at McKinsey, Pfizer in global vaccine health department, and business development in the education sector. For Derick Debevoise, this is her reason for getting up every day.</p>
<p>“My driver is nuancing people’s understanding of that spectrum. To think about all the ways they could have impact and then to get real about who they are and what they are good at—and match that up with the needs around them,” she says. </p>
<p>Derick Debevoise’s vision is an economy where the shoe maker, the coffee barista, the chief financial officer think about social and environmental impact in long-term ways and do their jobs accordingly. Social impact is not just for community health workers or teachers.</p>
<p>“Impact has to be everywhere. It has to be bottom-up. It has to be top-down. It has to be the marketing team, the packaging guys, the CEOs and top leadership who build a company they can feel good about. It has to be the middle management, perhaps most of all” explains Derick Debevoise.</p>
<p>This is why spending two hours together flew by. Derick Debevoise isn’t an evangelist for one perfect model and it’s refreshing. She believes that every model, from CSR to B Corps has systemic leverage. Sustainability as usual business requires participation and transformation of all models, from all players.</p>
<p>Perhaps most exciting is Inspiring Capital’s new training module for a more inclusive economy: the Women’s Re-inspiration Fellowship. Again, it’s entrepreneurship 101, and Derick Debevoise said “yes.” She received numerous requests for a training program for women who had been out of work for several years to raise their children and wanted a reintroduction to the workforce. She knew her nonprofit clients could use their expertise. </p>
<p>“It resonated right away. These are women who are displaced and disconnected from the economy. They have Ivy League degrees, have raised children and are now facing empty nests We hear their stories: ‘I used to be this thing. I have a JD/MBA from Yale, but it’s been years since I’ve worked and I don’t know if anyone has a need for my skill set,’” Derick Debevoise explains.</p>
<p>For a year, the participants work on their personal and professional leadership development, practice their new pitch and consult with nonprofits. After the year in the Women’s Re-inspiration Fellowship, the women leave with a cohort to support their reintegration to the workforce and their place on “The Spectrum of Impact.”</p>
<p>Inspiring Capital defines “The Spectrum of Impact” at three levels: Look within your job. What in my day job could I do that will make a difference? Look within your organization. What can you shift across departments? Or maybe it’s in the community. Maybe you can leverage your firm’s giving or make a dedicated commitment to a charity.</p>
<p>“We got way too far down the road in slash and burn capitalism and now we know the value of transparency. But no matter what we are doing, we all need to see a higher level, a thirty thousand-foot view of impact. Be a banker, but be responsible: don’t make 130 times more than your secretary. Don’t make your employees stay at work until 3 a.m. Find your piece of the puzzle and let that guide you,” says Derick Debevoise.</p>
<p>After all, each of us lives on the spectrum, anyway. Admission is the first step to recovery and in this case, intentional impact. Just sayin.’</p>
<p><a href="https://inspiringcapital.leadpages.co/spectrum-optin/">Download</a> Inspiring Capital’s Spectrum of Impact Resource Guide and learn how to think more strategically about your role. <a href="http://www.inspiringcapital.ly/women/">Apply</a> for the Women’s Re-Inspiration Program which starts April 24th. <br /><br />----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>I met Nell Derick Debevoise via the <a href="http://www.svn.org">Social Venture Network (SVN)</a>. As one of the SVN <a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs">Innovative Entrepreneurs</a>, Nell has access to the SVN network, conferences and support from the membership. SVN is a tribe, a community of love-focused business people. Check them out and <a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2017-svn-conference">register</a> for the winter conference. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/inspiring-capital">Inspiring Capital</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/spectrum-of-impact">spectrum of impact</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/impact-spectrum">impact spectrum</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/innovative-entrepreneurs">Innovative Entrepreneurs</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/nell-derick-debevoise">Nell Derick Debevoise</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/womens-re-inspiration-program">Women&#039;s Re-Inspiration Program</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/mba-internships">MBA internships</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/nyc-mba-internships">NYC MBA internships</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, April 5, 2017 - 11:00am</span></div></div></div>Wed, 05 Apr 2017 15:10:13 +0000Julie Fahnestock116881 at http://justmeans.comFrom South Beach to Smoked Bacon: Why James Faison Left the Dream to Support a Dying Industryhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/from-south-beach-to-smoked-bacon-why-james-faison-left-the-dream-to-support-a-dying-industry
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="https://media1.fdncms.com/styleweekly/imager/u/original/2222589/baconweb.jpg" />(3BL Media and Just Means)- Living on South Beach is exactly what you imagine: a never-ending vacation. And oh yeah, you probably make money somehow, some way, but career is secondary to your outdoor lifestyle. James Faison walked across the street any time he wanted to the cool off in the turquoise waters of Miami and hit up Ocean Boulevard at night to meet friends at one of the dozens of vibrant restaurants. Faison deserved it. He worked hard. A corporate finance lawyer in Miami, Faison busted it as an undergrad at Harvard and then at the University of Virginia School of Law. He was living the dream.</p>
<p>So, what it would it take for someone as successful as Faison to leave this dream world? Bigger income, better benefits, a dream opportunity? Think again. Think sausage, bacon and a dying meat industry. Faison had inherited his family's Virginian farm and instead of selling out like the majority of generational farms do, Faison knew this was his one shot to honor his family’s legacy. Growing up in a rural Virginian community, Faison witnessed a gap in the local meat market: local meat producers were struggling to sell. He knew he wanted to honor his grandfather, Milton Faison and use his family’s asset to change the history of meat production. In 2012, he left South Beach and moved back to small town Virginia.</p>
<p>For over a year, Faison listened. He knew he had to build buy-in and learn the industry. He visited farmers, listened to their ideas and asked about their greatest needs. He found they all needed two things: more market access and higher profits. Hence, Milton’s Local was born.</p>
<p>“We started selling some of the farmers’ products. We had to demonstrate that we could sell for them and we did,” says Milton.</p>
<p>Milton’s Local proudly supports 35 family-owned farms in North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania; every one of them raise only antibiotic, steroid-free animals. Milton’s Local supports sustainable agriculture by creating wholesale channels for family farmers. Restaurants, grocery stores and their online shop is their current distribution model. Imagine a box of Chipotle &amp; Cilantro Bacon Sausage and Hickory Smoked Bacon showing up at your front door—both great tasting and in their healthiest form.</p>
<p>“We define all-natural as minimally processed. For our bacon and bacon sausage, we don’t use MSG or gluten, no artificial flavorings or official nitrates or nitrites. A common way to cure pork is to use pink salt. We use naturally occurring nitrites in celery,” explains Faison.</p>
<p>Milton’s Local doesn’t take shortcuts. This includes their engagement with the agriculture community and larger systemic challenges. Faison is involved in local and regional agriculture, including the USDA Beginner Farmer and Rancher Community. He is constantly thinking about the revitalization of food.</p>
<p>“At the beginning of the 20th century, 40 percent of Americans were involved in agriculture. Now it’s one percent. Not a lot of folks know how to raise or grow food,” says Faison.</p>
<p>One percent of Americans are connected to the nurturing and growth of our most basic necessity. Knowing this should not have left my mouth hanging open when he told me that the median income of a beef farmer is $1,100 per year and $5,700 per year for pork farmers. Economics 101, right? We have zero connection. We place zero value. Why, then, do we still have meat production in the United States?</p>
<p>“Farmers are doing it for lifestyle and for heritage. If you didn’t inherit a farm, it’s incredibly difficult for you to survive as a farmer. The profits are low and the infrastructure costs are so high. So, for Milton’s Local, it’s about scale and high volume—getting these producers enough marketing channels so they can scale up,” says Faison.</p>
<p>James Faison is inspiring. He so easily could have continued to live the good life on the beaches of South Florida. (I know that lifestyle of sun, water sports and margaritas. It’s easy and fun.) But he didn’t. He took on the plight of farmers. This dedication, using force of business for good and others, deserves the highest of accolades.</p>
<p>You can find Milton’s Local meats at several Earth Fare grocery stores across North Carolina and other states. <a href="https://miltonslocal.com/find-us/">Check out</a> their locations here. <a href="https://miltonslocal.com/">Read</a> about their history, their farmers and <a href="https://miltonslocal.com/shop/">order your bacon.</a></p>
<p>I met James Faison at the Social Venture Network (SVN) conference. As one of the SVN Innovative Entrepreneurs, Faison ascribes value and learning from the network. He knows it’s a community who has his back, like-minded entrepreneurs who want him to succeed and have gone out of their way to offer insight, resources and connection. <a href="http://www.svn.org">Check out</a> SVN. <a href="http://svn.org/become-a-member/innovation-entrepreneurs-program">Apply</a> to be an Innovative Entrepreneur.<br /> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/miltons-local">Milton&#039;s Local</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/miltons">Milton&#039;s</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/james-milton">James Milton</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/local-meat">local meat</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainable-pork">sustainable pork</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, March 17, 2017 - 5:00pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 17 Mar 2017 20:59:54 +0000Julie Fahnestock111331 at http://justmeans.comNourishing for the Love of Humanity: Karen Bevels Catering http://justmeans.com/blogs/nourishing-for-the-love-of-humanity-karen-bevels-catering
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://karenbevels.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/table_setting_w.jpg" /><br />(3BL Media and Just Means) - The Silicon Valley: we know it for its genius, its startup tech community, its progressive culture and its insane cost-of-living. All true. I also know it for Karen Bevels, a loving diamond of a woman and one of the Bay Area’s most renowned caterers.</p>
<p>For 30 years, Karen Bevels Catering has been cooking “clean” — long before it was hip to avoid processed foods. Bevels has built her business on word-of-mouth recommendations. And though her customer list includes Google, Facebook and the NFL, designing fancy menus and events for the elite is not why she’s in business. Karen Bevels Catering is built on love; it’s a for-profit, for-people, for-health and for-love catering company.</p>
<p>You feel this the moment you meet Bevels. Her warm and inviting personality convinces you her cooking will also be warm and delicious. And with entree options like Dungeness crab stuffed with Petral sole, celery root puree, artichokes and Meyer lemon, you know you’ll leave her events fully satisfied. Moreover, Bevels believes healthy food should be accessible to all, that clean-eating is not a privilege for the rich, but a human right. “Food as medicine,” Bevels puts it. I’d add that her approach is “food as love in action” through every, single supply chain choice. Her goal is for her customers to celebrate with foods that are fun, memorable and healthy.</p>
<p>“It’s in the joy a flower arrangements brings and in choosing the colors of the linens so people will talk to one another. We want our customers to experience food they can trust and will feel good when they leave the celebration,” says Bevels.</p>
<p>Here’s what makes her kitchen so special: zero product lists, menus and event packages. Every menu is customized. Zero additives, caking ingredients and preservatives. They create all of their own spice blends and use fresh herbs. And to use the noun “can” is to swear in Bevel’s kitchen.</p>
<p>“Most people can open a can in a minute. Metal is interacting with the food in that can. I don’t care how well you insulate the can with plastics. I love you and I’m not going to give you something that’s harmful to your health,” says Bevels.</p>
<p>Fresh tomatoes are roasted every day and sauce is created per event. And move aside organic labeling. Bevels has worked hard to create a standard for her table which is more rigorous than that of the USDA which allows the use of 300 different types of pesticides to fall within the organic certification. Bevels has spent 30 years building relationships with farmers who don’t spray or use only natural pest deterrents, but can’t afford the organic labeling. All because she wants healthy food to be accessible for all people. See what I mean about love-in-action?</p>
<p>“For example, Driscoll, our berry supplier. They offer both conventional and organic strawberries. But we know that they have scrutinized their processing and understand which chemicals make people sick. All of their berries are unsprayed. You can feel the difference. They are clean, they care. It’s OK to buy their conventional berries,” explains Bevels.</p>
<p>But it’s not just big time berry companies like Driscoll that Bevels knows.Bevels has relationships with 80 percent of the farmers in the Karen Bevels Catering supply chain-- all of whom are local.</p>
<p>“We use the same purveyors as Whole Foods because we know they have very high standards. They aren’t trying to squeak under the law. We visit the farms. We see the beef and see where they are grazing,” says Bevels.</p>
<p>Bevels sees celebration as a moment in time when we offer our best selves to one another and that healthy celebrations should be available for everyone.</p>
<p>“There are caterers who are charging 200 times what we charge, but they are catering to the elite. We want healthy food to be available to anyone who wants it,” expresses Bevels.<br /><br />When I asked Bevels why she takes such great detail and attention to her supply chains and choices to offer healthy catering Bevels told me, “I love humanity,” says Bevels. “We want the good we do to be accessible.”</p>
<p>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />I met Karen Bevels at the Social Venture Network (SVN). As part of the Innovative Entrepreneur program, Bevels was affirmed that she wasn’t “crazy” for building a business on the principles of love and kindness. SVN also helped her to reassess the way she defined the success of Karen Bevels Catering. The value of the relationships she has created is now more part of her “success” equation. “Belonging to SVN has been transformational and has shifted my center of joy.”<br />Me too, Karen!</p>
<p>Hire <a href="http://karenbevels.com/">Karen Bevels Catering</a> for your next celebration. <a href="http://karenbevels.com/contact-us/">Call them</a> to learn about their lunch programs. Read about the Social Venture Network. <a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs">Apply</a> to be an Innovative Entrepreneur at the <a href="http://svn.org/">Social Venture Network.</a> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/karen-bevels-catering">Karen Bevels Catering</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/karen-bevels">Karen Bevels</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/organic-catering-san-fran">organic catering San Fran</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/clean-eating-san-fran">clean eating San Fran</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/bay-area-caterers">Bay Area caterers</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/best-san-fran-caterers">best San Fran caterers</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/healthy-chefs">healthy chefs</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/silicon-valley-catering">Silicon Valley catering</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/innovative-entrepreneurs">Innovative Entrepreneurs</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - 4:00pm</span></div></div></div>Tue, 28 Feb 2017 20:57:19 +0000Julie Fahnestock109021 at http://justmeans.comThe Systems Entrepreneur: Conquering Mount Everest, Togetherhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/the-systems-entrepreneur-conquering-mount-everest-together
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c2/9f/b7/c29fb76394acb68b20b4376553b3ec90.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 396px;" /><br />(Just Means and 3BL Media) — The social entrepreneur: that’s the title in the triple bottom line business world that we use to refer to an innovator with an environmental or social mission. We’ve put faces to this role like philanthropist Richard Branson and Patagonia’s Founder, Yvon Chouinard. We’ve seen academics and organizations like The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship formally define this leader as one who “pursues poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial zeal, business methods and the courage to innovate and overcome traditional practices.”</p>
<p>Maybe it’s semantics, but does this concept of one person, with one great mission-driven strategy, limit larger-scale impact? With all the good that social entrepreneurs are creating, why does it seem like we are still hunkered down at the base camp of Mount Everest? Are we actually scaling the mammoth challenges of climate change, racial inequality and poverty? Are social enterprises capable of focusing on their specific challenges and simultaneously shifting systemic levers? What is required of us as change agents to scale “Mount Everest?” My hunch is that it might have something to do with laying aside ego, collaborating and co-creating.</p>
<p>Enter the systems entrepreneur.</p>
<p>Different from a social entrepreneur who focuses on one aspect within the framework of a complex problem, a systems entrepreneur is “a person or organization that facilitates a change to an entire ecosystem by addressing and incorporating all the components and actors required to move the needle on a particular social issue.”</p>
<p>Geneva Global, a philanthropic consulting company that specializes in international development and accelerates the impact of investments with foundations and high net worth individuals, is leading this conversation. In collaboration with academic and the Vice Chairman of the U.N. Secretary’s Envoy’s Office for Health Finance and Malaria, Jeff Walker, Geneva Global has been exploring what it means for an organization to create impact as a systems entrepreneur.</p>
<p>Doug Balfour, CEO of Geneva Global, describes a systems entrepreneur as “a central gear, a catalytic force that creates momentum among all other actors.” Critical to a systems entrepreneur’s success is flexibility and the ability to unite key stakeholders, even competitors. This means letting go of one solution or approach. As the facilitator, a systems entrepreneur fosters cooperation among players with both top-down and ground-up strategies. Geneva Global is doing just this as they discover and define this paradigm.<br /><br />In early December, I had the privilege of joining some of the world’s most influential thought leaders as Geneva Global gathered a variety of colleagues---B Lab, EYElliance, The Rockefeller Foundation, Library for All, Panorama Global, Rocky Mountain Institute and Fortitude Fund---at the NYC Rockefeller offices to explore the role of a systems entrepreneur. Conversations around the challenge of operating as both a social and a systems entrepreneur within one organization were most fascinating. As Ava Lala, a Director at Geneva Global, describes in a recent blog post, “one potential solution that arose was to have a small group of systems thinkers within a larger organization who operate as “intrapreneurs.” Their distinct mission and sense of separation might be the ideal way for an organization to balance both strategies.”</p>
<p>This is, in part, the story of EYElliance. Formed as a coalition to unite leaders of multi-sector public, private and nonprofit partners, EYElliance creates solutions for the world’s unmet need of eyeglasses. They are an incredible example of Geneva Global’s emerging definition of a systems entrepreneur: a facilitator and an honest broker. EYElliance was birthed from the work of Vision Spring, a nonprofit whose mission is to create access to affordable eyewear, everywhere. Liz Smith, co-founder of EYElliance, recognized an opportunity to leverage over a decade worth of learnings with co-founder Jordan Kassalow to tackle the problem on a global scale:</p>
<p>"We were familiar with the barriers to scale within our own organization and it quickly became apparent that in order to meet the global need, the system-wide barriers that were affecting all actors, including the private sector and NGOs, needed to be addressed."<br /><br />Geneva Global has supported EYElliance as they’ve worked to bring various actors in eye care around the same table.</p>
<p>“We’ve provided guidance as they’ve envisioned their role and helped them refine and strengthen their strategy as they’ve moved from the startup phase and into the next phase of their growth,” explains Jenna Mulhall-Brereton, Managing Director at Geneva Global.<br /><br />Shifting into the role of systems entrepreneur takes commitment and passion. EYElliance recognizes that if they want to see huge impact, they must be committed to the larger system—and to the fruition of long-term results. Why? Because funders have been slow adapters to the systems entrepreneur model because the ROI takes longer to actualize. And though we all know that Mount Everest can’t be surmounted alone, convincing everyone to climb together is a challenge. </p>
<p>I think Balfour nailed it when he said this:<br /><br />“The obvious thing to do is to bring in all your friends [to create change], all that agree with you. I’ve started to think that’s obvious. But bring in your enemies at the same time. Even if you think that these entities might oppose the systems change you want to bring, the goal [as a systems entrepreneur] is to bring them to neutral, to sit at the same table.”</p>
<p>Because no one conquers Mount Everest alone. Well, successfully, at least.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.genevaglobal.com/blog/3-questions-facing-systems-entrepreneurs">Check out</a> a juicy blog from Geneva Global about the conversation at the Rockefeller gathering. <a href="http://www.genevaglobal.com/blog/want-big-social-change-find-systems-entrepreneur">Learn</a> how Doug Balfour, Geneva Global CEO, describes the characteristics of a systems entrepreneur. <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-social-ventures-need-systems-thinking">Read</a> how Jeff Walker describes systemic impact in an HBR article, “Why Social Ventures Need Systems Thinking.”</p>
<p>To understand how your organization can mobilize greater social impact, contact Geneva Global to speak to one of their systems change specialists. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/geneva-global">Geneva Global</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/systems-entrepreneurship">systems entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-entrepreneur">social entrepreneur</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/jeff-walker">Jeff Walker</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ngo">NGO</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/doug-balfour">Doug Balfour</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-lab">B Lab</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/eyelliance">EYElliance</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/the-rockefeller-foundation">The Rockefeller Foundation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/library-for-all">Library for All</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/panorama-global">Panorama Global</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/rocky-mountain-institute">Rocky Mountain Institute</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fortitude-fund">Fortitude Fund</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/vision-spring">Vision Spring</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/mount-everest">Mount Everest</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, January 27, 2017 - 2:30pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 27 Jan 2017 20:14:51 +0000Julie Fahnestock105486 at http://justmeans.comHarmless Harvest Tracks Every Ounce of Impact in America’s First, Fair Trade Coconut Water Celebrating Fair Trade Monthhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/harmless-harvest-tracks-every-ounce-of-impact-in-americas-first-fair-trade-coconut-water
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00189/America2JJ.jpg" style="float: left; width: 376px; height: 377px;" width="376" height="377" />(3BL Media and Just Means) – October: It’s the month which gives us an excuse to drink an excessive number of pumpkin lattes, indulge in political debate with family and trek up to Vermont for leaf peeping. Even more, it gives us the opportunity to stand side by side with small farmers around the world. Every year, I have the joy of hearing from dozens of companies who use October as a reason to support fair wages through consumer purchases. Fair trade Month is here, and in its honor, Giannella Alvarez, the CEO of Harmless Harvest, America’s first fair trade, Fair for Life certified coconut water, shared with me her excitement for the future.</p>
<p>The product line from Harmless Harvest is impressive: Coffee Coconut Water; 100% Raw Coconut Water in two flavors, Clove &amp; Cinnamon and Dark Cocoa. Not only are the Thailand-sourced coconuts fair trade, but Harmless Harvest also knows the supplier of every ingredient of every bottle. This is what makes them different. Harmless Harvest hasn’t jumped on the green, health conscious, fair trade movement with a single ingredient or product. From what I can tell, they are a company who would be operating closely with farmers, tracking supply chains down to the last drop, regardless of marketing and brand engagement opportunities. It’s this sentiment from Alvarez, which makes the beverages worth showcasing during Fair Trade Month:</p>
<p>“We recognize that some of our decisions may not be the fastest, cheapest or easiest, because we believe in our higher purpose as a company. We recognize that every decision, no matter how big or small, will have a lasting impact on our supply chains and the communities where we do business.”</p>
<p>Every decision counts. Harmless Harvest calls their approach an “ecosystem-based business model.” Founded on the principles of Constructive Capitalism and Fair for Life, Harmless Harvest tracks each product from the root to the store shelves. Because their Fair for Life certification requires that every transaction to be fair trade, they have a constant eye on the impact of their ingredients. This is what makes certifications like fair trade and B Corp worth the investment and effort. There’s no guessing or plotting supply chain maps through spreadsheets.</p>
<p>“Transparency is not a business tactic, but it’s a way of being for us. Our hope is that every one of our stakeholders knows the impact that they have on our product. It’s about being authentic, true and honest about the decisions that we make and why,” explains Alvarez.</p>
<p>They see true impact as measured over time and for the benefit of all stakeholders. It’s an approach I love: a stakeholder of Harmless Harvest is defined as anyone who touches and will be impacted by the brand, including farmer partners in Thailand, consumers, employees, investors, distributors, even the plants.</p>
<p>“As rooted as we are in the present, we also have to look ahead to consider future generations, because they are also stakeholders. We feel that we have a responsibility to create a product that is not only sustainable for the success of the business but also for the planet. We want to ensure that we are doing our part to provide for future generations,” says Alvarez.</p>
<p>“Doing their part” includes using real spices as opposed to chemical stabilizers; certifying thousands of acres of agroforestry organic under USDA specifications; providing medical assistance to over 900 plus members of the Thai communities; creating an education fund which provides school uniforms to 193 children; continually innovating to reduce packaging. Most importantly, they aren’t afraid to share their journey; the blazing triumphs and the knockdown failures.</p>
<p>“As excited as I am about the quality of our products, I’m most proud about “how” we are running our business. We’re working tirelessly to prove that there is a better business model, where every stakeholder and their communities are impacted in a positive way and treated harmlessly,” says Alvarez.</p>
<p>Rehydrate after that pumpkin spice latte with <a href="http://www.harmlessharvest.com/cinnamon-clove/">Cinnamon Clove Coconut Water.</a> Read about Constructive Capitalism and an <a href="http://www.harmlessharvest.com/ecosystem-based-business/">Eco-Based Business Model</a>. Check out what it means to be <a href="http://www.harmlessharvest.com/fair-for-life/">Fair for Life.</a></p>
<p>(Image: Harmless Harvest)</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/fair-for-life">fair for life</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fair-trade-coconut">fair trade coconut</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/organic-coconut-water">organic coconut water</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fair-trade-month">fair trade month</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - 11:00am</span></div></div></div>Wed, 26 Oct 2016 14:55:10 +0000Julie Fahnestock94951 at http://justmeans.comIndia’s First B Corp Uses Uber-like Tech Model to Connect Supply Chains and Smallholder Farmershttp://justmeans.com/blogs/indias-first-b-corp-uses-uber-like-tech-model-to-connect-supply-chains-and-smallholder-farmers
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00189/IndiaJ_0.jpg" style="float: left; width: 658px; height: 505px;" width="658" height="505" />(3BL Media and Just Means) - In the same way that the San Francisco Bay area will be read about in North American history books—or history apps, rather—Bangalore is creating historical tech waves in India. That country’s first certified B Corp, eKutir Global, is shaping that tide. What started as a vision to empower small farmers and shareholders with tech solutions for planting, selling and connecting has developed into a tool used by big name corporations to increase efficiency and directly connect with their supply chains.</p>
<p><span style="">Disclaimer: At first glance, the skeptic in me arose. Another technology that claims to empower smallholder farmers? Another app to help farmers predict weather patterns and market prices? Do farmers in India care about using smart phones? Three conversations later with co-founder and CEO, Suvankar Mishra, and I know this platform is different. eKutir uses a systems thinking and context-based approach to their technology. They view their tech platform as a tool and not an end-all, be-all solution to global poverty. Developing partnerships with a variety of stakeholders including micro entrepreneurs, farming communities and big corporations drives their business. What’s most convincing is that as farmers are convinced of the benefits of technology in their farming practices and in their homes, eKutir knows they might be out of jobs. And they are OK with that.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Here’s an example of how the eKutir tech platform works:</span></p>
<p><span style="">A multinational beverage company sources their teas and coffees from small shareholders and cooperatives all over the world. The business development department wants to stay on top of growing trends and market prices. Supply chain managers are concerned that farmers are paid fair wages by middlemen distributors. Both departments want to know what’s working and what’s not and iterate their processes as farmers provide feedback. Currently, this exchange of knowledge is tracked through spreadsheets and bulky software. eKutir Global streamlines this communication through community-based, micro entrepreneurs who gather data from the farmers and input this into an app. Think of the Uber model for agricultural reporting. Training and creating buy-in for farmers to use the technology themselves has been a challenge, one that eKutir has seen many other companies face. The micro entrepreneur eliminates this bottleneck and creates hundreds of jobs. </span></p>
<p><span style="">“These are digitally skilled entrepreneurs that work with the farmers and become the conduits of every organization to work more efficiently and engage with these farming communities. Graduates, high school grads, anyone looking for an entry level position—they live in the community and have the potential to earn two to six thousand dollars. Our team trains them with the platform and like Uber, they onboard and take on as much work as they want,” explains Mishra.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Customers pay to license and set up the technology. They also pay for eKutir to collect and analyze the data that comes into the system. eKutir provides a recommendation for business development and a farmer rating which is in turn used to develop a credit score for farmers; they know creating access to credit for farmers is a leverage point for ending poverty. As part of what eKutir calls the Agri Suite, eKutir customers have access to information about helps them plan to maximize crop production; analyze soil qualities and plant health; manage for disease and other risks; and connect with individual farmers. The goal is efficiency and empowered farmers.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Any product or solution should reduce risk and increase outputs. eKutir does this. It will be a solution that is long lasting. We tested this with farmers over and over. We know it works,” says Mishra.</span></p>
<p><span style="">So why did eKutir Global join the B Corp movement? In terms of creating impact, for eKutir this was a no brainer. Their use of their technology has always been missional; creating jobs through micro enterprise and connecting low-income communities to clean energy and clean water is a priority. Mishra also saw the value in the B Impact Assessment as a way to manage their impact across their numerous programs.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Are we creating access to credit for farmers? How do we contribute to the environment? Can we give credit back to the people that are part of our communities? We were strongest in impact and outcomes and that’s because there is a lot of evaluation conducted at eKutir, whether or not it works,” says Mishra.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Mishra also saw the value in the community in the B Corp movement. He’ll fly across the world in a few weeks to attend the annual B Corp Champions Retreat with the rest of us. Engaging with other social entrepreneurs fuels him to do more through eKutir Global and most importantly, for the farmers and micro entrepreneurs of India.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Read about <a href="http://www.ekutirglobal.com/">eKutir Global.</a> Contact them to <a href="http://www.ekutirglobal.com/#slide05">become a customer.</a> Check out their <a href="https://www.bcorporation.net/community/ekutir">B Corp Assessment.</a></span></p>
<p><span style="">(Image: Copyright of Bioversity International) </span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/ekutir-global">eKutir Global</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ekutir">Ekutir</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/suvankar-mishra">Suvankar Mishra</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/indias-first-b-corp">India&#039;s first B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/benefit-corp">Benefit Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/agri-tech">agri tech</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, September 6, 2016 - 2:30pm</span></div></div></div>Tue, 06 Sep 2016 18:25:08 +0000Julie Fahnestock88221 at http://justmeans.comHold the Beef. More Broccoli Please: Why Hong Kong’s Green Monday Movement Is Building a Flexitarian Globehttp://justmeans.com/blogs/hold-the-beef-more-broccoli-please-why-hong-kongs-green-monday-movement-is-building-a
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.daringgourmet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Beef-and-Broccoli-5.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" />(3BL Media and Just Means)- After 13 years of pescetarianism, I might be reconsidering prosciutto and fried chicken. Tragic, to my purist, animal-loving friends, yes. But I feel like I don’t see the industrialization of animal production ending because I substitute tofu for chicken on my bacon-less Cobb salad. When I was a young twenty-something, I quickly gave myself to the anti-climate change, animal-loving campaigners at my university. But have any of my veggie burgers mattered? I’d like to think so. But campaigns and small personal choices alone don’t change the world. When David Yeung, co-founder and CEO of Green Monday, said this of his plant-eating, flexitarian-awareness company, I knew I trusted him. Green Monday “promotes and enables green, healthy and sustainable living through vegetarian promotion and food rescue initiatives” as an effort to reduce the global carbon footprint. But can my choice to eat “green” on Mondays reduce worldwide carbon outputs? Are meat producers scaling back their operations because I eat kale and tofu instead? And must I sacrifice the delicate and sensual world of prosciutto I’ve recently discovered in order to take a personal stand against climate change?</p>
<p>Green Monday started as a consumer awareness initiative—promoting flexitarianism, i.e. eating vegetarian meals a few days a week in order to reduce carbon emissions—and has branched into Green Monday Foundation and Green Common. Green Monday Foundation hosts a network of universities and restaurants, taking steps to reduce food waste and bridge the gap between the food system and climate change. Green Money Ventures, the for-profit umbrella of Green Monday, hosts both retail space, an e-commerce platform, a venture capital firm and a network of corporations and universities. Green Ventures impact investment arms invest into smaller food startups with mission alignment.</p>
<p>Yeung says their goal is not about creating a globe of vegetarians, but that the impact of food on the planet is all about portions. Green Monday partners with dining services at universities and corporations to transition meat-centric menus to a more balanced offering of meat and veggies. Columbia University’s 10,000-student population, for example, shifted to 50 percent meat and 50 percent greens.</p>
<p>“Everyone who comes to the cafeteria becomes a part-time vegetarian. Some people don’t even need to be aware that Green Monday exists because the corporation or school makes that choice on their behalf,” explains Yeung.</p>
<p>According to Green Monday, one flexitarian saves an average of 68 animals each year. But can the causation between the reduction of meat one day a week and the overall impact on meat production and carbon outputs be made? And how is this type of impact tracked? Yes, gradually, procurement managers reduce meat orders and purchase more vegetables. And vegetable and fruit production supposedly have a smaller footprint than meat production because it takes a lot of food to feed cattle. Plus, there’s the methane from the animals and the emissions from the meat production. However, Tamara Hapsel from The Washington Post in the article <em>“Vegetarian or Omnivore: The Environmental Implications of Diet” </em>points out that we have to compare the environmental impact of meats versus veggies based on calories. One kilogram of beef, for example, has 2,280 calories which needs replacing with 6.7 kilograms of broccoli. If we had to eat that much broccoli, I guarantee it would be covered in animal-derived cheese.</p>
<p>So, where does that put us? And then there’s the shipping and packaging of plants, too . . .. Clearly, it’s complex, and no one organization is tracking these outputs well. At this point, Green Monday doesn’t have the capacity to contextualize or track these differences nor the environmental footprint of each school or company with whom they work---though it’s a probable goal down the road.</p>
<p>“Tracing carbon is very labor intensive and requires expertise. For example, a school could source local food, but the packaging could be from across the planet. Most companies are not there yet and we aren’t either. We benchmark in terms of weight and volume and how much of a certain kind of food is served. Even a school who cuts out just red meat is making a difference,” explains Yeung.</p>
<p>Green Monday grew a global network of universities and schools who are reducing meat consumption. In partnership with an Albanian coalition of 37 universities, Green Monday helped to convert each school to a 50 percent plant based diet every day of the week. But the real success is Green Monday as a forerunner for this movement in Hong Kong, where the movement started. Not only has the city seen a 55 percent increase in vegetarian restaurants and a 23 percent shift in the population to flexitarian, they have even partnered with McDonalds to reduce meat consumption. Healthy eating and healthy living have become a citywide lifestyle.</p>
<p>“It is very important to have a voice like this in Asia where two-thirds of the population lives. Before Green Monday no one was talking about sustainability. We know we are pioneers in Asia, bar-none,” says Yeung.</p>
<p>There’s also the issue of cost in becoming a flexitarian institution. Theoretically, buying plants should cost less than buying meats. But, according to Yeung, it really depends on kitchen practices. Plants have a shelf life of three to four days and frozen chicken nuggets last forever. There’s also the political issue of government food subsidization.</p>
<p>“The playing field is not level between the meat and plant industries. The meat industry has an economy of scale and as horrendous as it sounds, the production of animal killing is optimized. In terms of cost, we are still fighting an uphill battle,” says Yeung.</p>
<p>With Costco as the biggest retailer of organics, Yeung does think it is becoming more affordable to have a plant-based diet. And though Green Monday doesn’t push its partners to source organics, half of Green Common’s market is organic.</p>
<p>Yeung is hopeful. Meat consumption has dropped eight years in a row in the U.S. and around the world, there’s a growing paradigm shift. Most of us that eat, at the least, believe that lowering a meat intake is good for our health. He believes the Green Monday movement is a key part of this.</p>
<p>“On a macro level, are we influencing the meat production of a country? We can’t claim this, but we are influencing it. Baby steps can make a big difference,” says Yeung.</p>
<p><a href="http://greenmonday.org/">Green Monday</a> is part of the Social Venture Network and an aspiring B Corp. <a href="https://youtu.be/_MUmhz6HE74">Check out </a>David Yeung’s TEDx Talk in Hong Kong. See what they are up to at <a href="http://www.greencommon.com/">Green Common</a>, Hong Kong. And if you’re a sustainable, food startup, Green Venture is open to hearing your pitch! Contact them at <a href="mailto:enquiry@greenmonday.org">enquiry@greenmonday.org</a>.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/green-monday">Green Monday</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/green-monday-hong-kong">Green Monday Hong Kong</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/green-ventures">Green Ventures</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/green-common">Green Common</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/david-yeung">David Yeung</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/flexitarian">flexitarian</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/energy">Energy</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/finance-and-sri">Finance and SRI</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/transportation">Transportation</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Monday, August 8, 2016 - 12:00pm</span></div></div></div>Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:10:05 +0000Julie Fahnestock85106 at http://justmeans.comRelationship First, Business Second: A Community of Innovative Entrepreneurs http://justmeans.com/blogs/relationship-first-business-second-a-community-of-innovative-entrepreneurs
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/SVN_IE_Program.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" width="800" height="533" /></p>
<p><em>(Image: SVN Spring Conference 2016; Creating art via Innovation Entrepreneur Participant, Late Night Art)</em></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means) - Choosing the right sustainability conference…Every year as I budget for networking and marketing, the stress I feel over this decision tightens my stomach into a fit of cramps. A dramatic response? Maybe. But you don’t want to blow a couple of thousand dollars and find out you should have been somewhere else, hob knobbing with those industry leaders, those investors, over there. Social entrepreneurs don’t have this kind of time or money to waste. We need to know we are investing money with the people who understand and appreciate us most. So what if you stopped worrying about the best-fitting conference and instead joined a community of loving and generous pioneers? They are called the Social Venture Network (SVN). This is a community that’s been disrupting systems long before sustainability held a stake in business.</p>
<p>For over 30 years, the Social Venture Network has corralled conscious businesses together to learn, grow and hold one another accountable to social and environmental change. Each year they host two conferences, a spring event in the West and a fall gathering on the East. But the conferences aren’t the reason business leaders join as members, many of them for several decades. It’s deep friendship, a commitment to shared humanity and a space to learn from the forefathers of sustainability leaders. </p>
<p>“SVN has a unique DNA. We aren’t focused solely on [investor] matchmaking. Rather, we operate from a place of relationship. Our core DNA is relationship first, business second. We have shared concerns, a shared desire to change the world. SVN’s approach is from a whole person model, both the personal and the professional,” says Donna Daniels, Deputy Director of SVN.</p>
<p>To foster the growth of a diverse generation of leaders, SVN launched the Innovation Entrepreneurs Program with the focus on identifying women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color who are leveraging business for the greater good. The Innovation Entrepreneurs Program provides startups with annual revenues in the range of $500K-$1MM to participate with SVN and its members for one year. Applicants are chosen for the program based on industry, impact and goals. They are currently accepting applications for the fourth cohort, particularly from renewable energy and tech companies. What’s the benefit of joining a cohort of SVN Innovation Entrepreneurs?</p>
<ul><li>Free access to one conference with a discount on the second gathering</li>
<li>Peer-to-peer coaching</li>
<li>Quarterly coaching from a panel of SVN members</li>
<li>Introductions to members of the network</li>
<li>Promotion and marketing services</li>
</ul><p>An Innovatiion Entrepreneur participant gets a taste of SVN membership and access to learn from the decades of wisdom in the community. There’s a commitment among SVN members to be generous, to give and to receive to and from one another; it’s an energy you sense your first night at an SVN gathering. Each conference offers Innovation Entrepreneurs special gatherings to learn from like-minded innovators like organic and non-GMO leader, Gary Hirshberg, chairman and former president of Stonyfield Farm and longtime SVN member. Hirschberg vulnerably shared his startup journey and the stresses it put on his personal and professional life."</p>
<p>“Our members are willing to tell the story, the warts and all,” says Daniels. “Gary’s story was a lot of challenges. He almost closed down the business and he shared how he rallied to keep going. It’s this authenticity of the members and their desire for partnerships grounded in real mutual respect that makes SVN so unique.”</p>
<p><span style="">SVN supports young and diverse entrepreneurs as a way to decentralize wealth and open investment to women and entrepreneurs of color who have traditionally been held away from capital. The Innovation Entrepreneur program also creates a more dynamic community.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“For a network that didn’t start out as diverse, this won’t magically happen,” says Daniels. “Structurally, it’s really important to widen the range of people in our network. It’s a demographic reality. How can we as a network fire up and support the greatest generation [of entrepreneurs] to deal with our greatest challenges? </span></p>
<p><span style="">This is why I love SVN. They are a loving community of box-breaking disrupters who are intentional about supporting and challenging one another. Innovative Entrepreneurs quickly experience the love. For example, Nona Lim found support from a former Mighty Leaf Tea founder in packaging design and format. CORE Foods worked with SVN members to develop their story; Kiverdi developed a relationship with Big Path Capital as they planned for a capital raise. Supportive stories like this are common in the SVN community; they emerge after the conferences are over. Daniels is right. Friendship is the crux of SVN. And, these are some of the most fun friends you’ll ever make. It’s a well-known secret that SVN members love to have fun. Leave the suit jacket at home and rest up a week ahead of time. After conference hours involve talent After conference hours involve live music, artistic experiences and dance parties. Celebrations sustain wee into the morning.</span></p>
<p>Still curious about SVN and becoming an Innovatiion Entrepreneur participant? <a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs">Meet </a>the current cohort. <a href="http://svn.org/become-a-member/innovation-entrepreneurs-program">Apply </a>for the Fall 2016 Innovation Entrepreneur cohort. <a href="http://svnconference.com/">Join</a> the community at the Fall 2016 conference in Philadelphia, Nov. 2-5. Read about Innovatiion Entrepreneur participants <a href="http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/starvation-alley-shakes-the-cosmos-with-organic-turbulence-a-b-corp-story">Starvation Alley</a> and <a href="http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/the-disruption-of-local-living-investing-and-cheese">Mission Cheese.</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/innovation-entrepreneurs-program">Innovation Entrepreneurs Program</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-conference">SVN Conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/mission-cheese">Mission Cheese</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/starvation-alley">Starvation Alley</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/late-night-art">Late Night Art</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainability-conference">sustainability conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ben-and-jerrys-0">Ben and Jerry&#039;s</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corps-0">B Corps</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Monday, August 1, 2016 - 11:00am</span></div></div></div>Mon, 01 Aug 2016 15:19:18 +0000Julie Fahnestock84186 at http://justmeans.comBusiness as a Force for Awakening: A Dharma Approach http://justmeans.com/blogs/business-as-a-force-for-awakening-a-dharma-approach
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.bcorporation.net/sites/default/files/blog/DSC_2737-660x438.jpg" style="width: 660px; height: 438px;" /><em style="">A B Corp Story</em><br /><span style="">(</span><span style="">3BL Media and Just Means)—Your new credit card arrives in the mail. No more swiping for you. You’ve entered a new era with your chip card and for some reason, you feel more technologically savvy, like you belong in a younger generation. But what happens inside that little chip? Do any of us know? We just trust that it’s better than swiping. We trust. We trust credit card companies and all the players in between who take our money for the luxury of the trust built into that chip. Should we be so trusting? Do we really understand what happens behind the confusing curtains of credit card processing? In a multi-trillion dollar industry, does anyone care about the small-business owner?</span></p>
<p>Pause for a moment and imagine something crazy. Imagine personally knowing the people who handle your money. Imagine understanding the credit card transactions of your small business and when you don’t, picking up the phone, dialing one number and speaking with a human, a patient and kind person, who views you not as a pesky customer with a problem, but as an equal with a soul. Imagine a company who gives away “trade secrets” for the sake of transparency, for the sake of respecting your customers and your financial security. Enter San-Fran based B Corp, Dharma Merchant Services.</p>
<p>Before the B Corp model established itself, Jeff Marcous and his daughter Alexia Marcous shared the intention of using Dharma Merchant Services to build community. After several years of leading other credit card processing companies---including one he founded which sold for $90 million on the public market and made him an instant millionaire—J. Marcous left it all behind. He never wanted to work for a Wall Street owned company again.</p>
<p>“I realized that just because you have money doesn’t mean you have a sense of abundance,” J. Marcous told me. “I left the industry to start a merchant processing company with a heart, a set of values.”</p>
<p>Transparency defines the Dharma culture. With a commitment to fair interchange-plus pricing, customers know exactly how much money is paid to the card-issuing banks, how much went to the card associations and how much went to Dharma—a 25 percent fee for storefront purchases and 35 percent for online compared to the industry standard of 52 percent. Dharma adds one, constant flat margin on top of the interchange. They only operate with the interchange-plus pricing which ensures lowest rates. They also eliminated monthly minimums, long-term contracts and offer reduced rates for nonprofits. Most traditional merchant processing companies don’t disclose their processing fees. Dharma’s flat margin empowers small businesses regardless of volume or minimum amounts.</p>
<p>At first, Dharma was making less money with this approach. But that was fine by J. Marcous and A. Marcous. It was part of a culture they were building at Dharma, a culture that I quickly fell in love with after spending 20 minutes in the office. Where do I begin? First, J. Marcous’s salary is less than four times that of the starting employee. His CEO level peers make 200 times the starting salaries. Secondly, Dharma pays a minimum salary of $70,000. Even for San Fran standards, this is high. Thirdly, in 2015 Dharma gave $100,000 to charities chosen by employees. Shall I keep going? Dharma sources only from fellow B Corps, fair trade suppliers and maintains a low-carbon footprint. In fact, they publish a Green Card which transparently outlines all sourcing. Employees enjoy full health benefits, fully paid gym memberships and fully paid public transportation. Why? Why would a business make so much effort?</p>
<p>Dharma. The word dharma, I’ve learned has many meanings: virtue, one’s path, the path of the middle way, truth according to Buddha. The Marcous team knew they wanted the business to be a vehicle of awakening, part of the way in which they know themselves. And a way in which to honor and love all of those they come with whom they come in contact. In fact, Dharma has an entire section on their website which describes who they view as a stakeholder. Everyone they come in contact with, including their competitors, is part of the Dharma community. J. Marcous writes:</p>
<p>“For me, even an exchanged pleasantry in the elevator means that the other person has automatically become enrolled as a stakeholder of Dharma (and of me personally) as this new connection may be the result of "how we are being" at our company. And how are we being? We are being loving, we are being inclusive, we are being grateful and we are being abundant. In fact, this way of seeing begs the question, "who isn't a stakeholder?" </p>
<p>Dharma adopted elements of the Buddhist, Eightfold path, which guides one to enlightenment as part of their cultural core: right intention, right action, right speech, right effort and right livelihood. They operationalize these values by offering excellent quality, building community and living in service to their customers. They remain available to customers by phone, share their profits and keep their processes simple. Often, Dharma can have a new customer set up and processing credit cards with them in 48 hours or less. 25 years and 3,000 customers later, they’ve built an incredible reputation, a community and a loving culture.</p>
<p>“We always look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of need from the bottom up as physical, safety, emotional and self- actualization. But what if this was done backward with self-actualization as the starting point? If you do the right thing, treat others with love and respect and compassion, you will be a magnet for people. You will experience plenty of abundance,” says Marcous.</p>
<p>Business as a force for good: the B Corp motto. But maybe there’s a richer place to start. Perhaps if we shifted our paradigm and first saw our businesses as a tool for awakening, enlightenment and abundance, consequentially goodness would follow. And in this, we may discover dharma. We may discover ourselves. Business as a force for personal enlightenment. Selah.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgYmxbbMwgA&amp;feature=youtu.be">Watch</a> the Dharma Merchant Services culture-in-action. <a href="https://www.dharmamerchantservices.com/getting-started/">Sign-up</a> for Dharma’s services. <a href="https://www.dharmamerchantservices.com/storefront-rates/">Read</a> about why their interchange plus model serves your business. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/dharma-merchant-services">Dharma Merchant Services</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/dharma">Dharma</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/jeff-marcous">Jeff Marcous</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/conscious-capitalism">Conscious Capitalism</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/interchange-plus">interchange plus</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, June 15, 2016 - 10:00am</span></div></div></div>Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:55:13 +0000Julie Fahnestock80649 at http://justmeans.comStarvation Alley Shakes the Cosmos with Organic Turbulence: A B Corp Storyhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/starvation-alley-shakes-the-cosmos-with-organic-turbulence-a-b-corp-story
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://pinchot.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2014/12/starvationalleyjuicecocktail.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 511px;" /><br /><em style="">(Photo Credit: Giles Clement)</em></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means)--The hot, balmy month of June requires three things: SPF 50, a friend with a pool and refreshing cocktails to offer to your friend in exchange for everyday pool access. Or, for us Floridians, every day of the year requires these things. So you can imagine that when I heard about Starvation Alley Farms, a B Corp, and their cold, pressed, purely delicious organic cranberry juice--the first of its kind to hit the market-- I knew my cocktail options had dramatically improved. I also knew I might suddenly have more friends with pools.</p>
<p>To locals and fellow farmers in the Washington peninsula, Starvation Alley Farms founders Jessika Tantisook, Jared Oakes, Alex Mondau and Alana Kambury attempted the insurmountable: transitioning a conventional cranberry farm into a fully sustainable, organic farm. Cultural practices, fungus, pest control, higher premiums---really, how do you control these factors without pesticides in a bog and make a profit? No one knew. In fact, Kambury told me that virtually zero formal, organic cranberry growing research has been conducted. But what the Starvation Alley farmers did know was that selling conventional cranberries at 20 cents per pound was forcing generational cranberry farmers to stop growing. They knew that the externalities of conventional cranberry growing produced waterway contamination, wetland degradation and declining bee populations. But that wasn’t stopping these fighting entrepreneurs from figuring out a better way. In 2013, Starvation Alley certified as the first, organic cranberry producer in Washington State. Local farmers were shocked their practices were working.</p>
<p>“Local farmers shifted from saying, ‘you’re crazy and naive to attempt organic, cranberry farming to…you’re still crazy and naive, but you’re doing what we thought was impossible and maybe it’s financially better for us to work with you. There’s a paradigm shift in the farmers. Now, farmers in Massachusetts and Wisconsin are calling us saying, “You’re the cranberry farmers who are scaling organic production,” Kambury says.</p>
<p>Starvation Alley Farms’ 10 organic acres joined the 290 other acres of organic bogs in just four other states: Oregon, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and New Jersey. But their vision for organic cranberries encompasses more than their own success; they are leading a movement. These disrupters are using the Starvation Alley Farms brand to scale organic cranberry farming and create full circle collaboration, community and thriving livelihoods. This fall will be the first harvest they will buy fruit—at a premium of 75 cents per pound—from the soon-to-be, second and third organic certified farms in Washington State. In essence, they will be buying their own fruit.</p>
<p>“Under the Starvation Alley Farms brand, we are helping conventional farms transition into organics. We get them going in the process and then we buy their fruit. The advantage is that they are second and third generation cranberry farmers so they teach us more things about cranberries,” explains Kambury.</p>
<p>In collaboration with Oregon Tilth, Starvation Alley Farms is scaling the organic cranberry movement by offering support and guidance to farmers in transition from conventional to organics. Now, there’s a long queue of farmers waiting to work with Starvation Alley Farms and to sell their fruit. The challenge is finding more ways to sell it. Which brings me back to my obsession with summery, cranberry cocktails. In discovery of ways to distribute the organic supply, the Starvation Alley Farms pioneers found an overly sugared, overly processed cranberry juice market. They knew the craft beverage market needed a cold, pure pressed, organic option. They call it Cranberry For Concoctions. Imagine for a minute, a Smoky Cranberry Sour or a west coast Cosmo with botanical gin. A unique part of their Cranberry For Concoctions is their collaborations with other B Corps, jam companies, vinegar producers and breweries. My favorite collaboration? Brew the Change, an ale produced by Ontario craft brewery, Beau’s and comprised of ingredients from several B Corps including honey from the African Bronze Honey Project, hops from Crosby Hop Farms, yerba mate from Guiyaki and cranberry juice from Starvation Alley Farms.</p>
<p>Starvation Alley Farms products can be found in Northwest retailers including Whole Foods, but if you’re an impatient East Coaster like me, join me at the Social Venture Network (SVN) Conference, Nov. 2-5 in Philadelphia. Starvation Alley Farms will be serving their craft cocktails during the conference. Awarded as one of this year’s SVN’s Social Innovation Entrepreneurs, Starvation Alley Farms has gained inspiration, mentoring and support from fellow SVN members--which is particularly helpful as they look for values-aligned, equity investors in the next two months.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of expertise and sincerity in the SVN network. Mature companies and business leaders support growing your younger business which is a special aspect to the SVN Innovation Entrepreneurs program. People share their vulnerability as disrupters and all the obstacles they face which always sound so familiar to the ones we hurdle every day. They add fuel to the fire that this is hard, but that we are on the right track,” says Kambury.</p>
<p>Starvation Alley Farms represents the B Corp model and the SVN network at its finest. They aren’t just on the right track. They are an unstoppable force of cranberry goodness to be reckoned with. Healthier wetlands, fair and living wages, empowered farming communities: chilling poolside with new friends and my organic, antioxidant-rich, cranberry, lime margarita concoction never tasted so good.</p>
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<p>Want to invest? Contact the Starvation Alley team at <a href="mailto:Juice@starvationalley.com" target="_blank">Juice@starvationalley.com</a>. Find out <a href="http://starvationalley.com/where-to-find/">where to buy</a> about Starvation Alley Farms cranberries and juice. Show off your bartending skills and make more friends with pools with <a href="http://starvationalley.com/cocktail-recipes/">these cocktail recipes.</a> Learn more about the <a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs">SVN Innovation Entrepreneur Program.</a> Trust me, you want to <a href="http://svnconference.com/">attend the SVN Fall Conference</a> in Philadelphia so <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-venture-networks-fall-conference-2016-tickets-20113101829">register </a>now. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/starvation-alley">Starvation Alley</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/starvation-alley-farms">Starvation Alley Farms</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-conference">SVN Conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/organic-cranberries">organic cranberries</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - 12:00pm</span></div></div></div>Tue, 14 Jun 2016 15:53:24 +0000Julie Fahnestock80623 at http://justmeans.comSustainability, Acceleration, & Laughter: How kibikibi Partners Jemma and Emma Do Consulting with a Soul (Mate)http://justmeans.com/blogs/sustainability-acceleration-laughter-how-kibikibi-partners-jemma-and-emma-do-consulting-with-a
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Laughing_Like_Sisters_Kew_Gardens_2016.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 533px;" width="800" height="533" /><br />(<em>Photo Credit: Helen Abraham)</em><br /><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means) - Laughter, cam</span><span style="">araderie, give and take, vulnerability and synergy: according to a quick Google search, when you meet someone with whom you share these characteristics, you’ve found your soulmate. As with most soul partners, Jemma Blaylock and Emma Hill (rhyming names must also be a dead give-away that you’ve found your perfect match) knew almost immediately that they were destined for best mate-ship and a joint business venture. When I met these business partners, soul mate sisters at the Social Venture Network (SVN) </span><span style="">Sprin</span><span style="">g</span><span style=""> Conference, I knew I was destined for gut wrenching laughter and intelligent conversation about what it takes for mission-driven companies to succeed. What more can you ask for in a delightful afternoon?</span></p>
<p><span style="">Just a few years ago, Hill founded </span>kibikibi <span style="">Partners, a UK-based consulting firm that helps early stage, values-driven companies access the best markets and, as defined by the Japanese word kibikibi, helps “accelerate” growth. With dedicated careers in technology and retail at companies like IBM and Heinz, Hill and Blaylock offer the clients of kibikibi Partners a holistic scope of the market. But let go of all assumptions you hold about consulting firms. Forget fancy reports and boring meetings. Kibikibi Partners dives in headfirst with clients; they aren’t in consulting to make a quick buck. They choose their clients very carefully, only supporting companies they know that they can truly help succeed. Mission-driven, retail and technology companies with a triple bottom line approach are their sweet spot. They call their approach “intelligent market penetration.”</span></p>
<p><span style="">“We aren’t about firing bullets for our clients. We spend more time at the beginning getting the right insights, so that our investment into marketing or sales is strategic and targeted. We don’t want our clients to spend money on things that the market doesn’t want or need,” says Blaylock</span><span style="">.</span><span style=""> </span></p>
<p><span style="">Whatever it takes to find the best partnerships or market opportunities, kibikibi Partners becomes an industry expert for their client. In fact, when I first met Blaylock, I thought she had a long career in a manufacturer of plastics and packaging. Two of kibikibi Partners’ clients, GreenPiP and Parax Stone Paper, have developed plastic alternatives. Kibikibi Partners is exploring a variety of uses for the technologies. GreenPIP produces a renewable, recycled paper product, 56 percent more energy efficient than plastic, which can be molded into any shape and can replace hard plastics. Parax Stone Paper is an alternative to traditional pulp paper, waterproof, and saves the cutting of 20 trees, 7,480 gallons of water and 167 pounds of waste per ton as compared to regular paper. Both Green PIP and Parax Stone Paper demonstrate an opportunity to revolutionize pet food packaging—with GreenPiP’s paper replacing the bag and Parax Stone Paper the inner liner. Pet food packaging is a market Blaylock and Hill are exploring in-depth for both clients.</span></p>
<p>“Americans spend approximately $60 billion on their pets and they really care about their health and welfare. A huge amount of innovation has gone into producing healthy pet food. We want to be able to provide the pet-care market with packaging alternatives which support sustainability and health. If we can achieve this with paper or solutions which use less plastic, then this has to be a good thing for consumer choice. ” explains Hill.</p>
<p>When kibikibi Partners first opened its doors, developing sustainability strategies for their clients was important, but not a driving priority. Joining SVN quickly helped to change that. After experiencing the passion of the SVN family at the fall 2015 conference, Blaylock and Hill knew flying across the pond twice a year was a priority.</p>
<p>“There is nothing like SVN in the UK. What we value is that it’s intelligent, motivated people coming together,” begins Blaylock. “. . . to make a difference for our planet,” finishes Hill. (Finishing one another’s sentences—another sign of a soul mate). </p>
<p>Spending an afternoon with Blaylock and Hill at SVN reminded me that not only should a business partnership serve to maximize capacities and best serve its clients, it should also be fun. Their corporate backgrounds, commitment to clients and values-driven approach are why they have what it takes to lead a successful consulting firm. Their sisterhood, their joy, their laughter is why you want to work with them. Trust me. You’ll have a blast.</p>
<p><span style="">Check out </span><a href="http://www.kibikibi.co.uk/" style="">kibikibi Partners</a><span style="">. Learn about their cool clients, <a href="http://www.greenpip.eu/">GreenPiP </a>and </span><a href="http://www.paraxpaper.co.uk/" style="">Parax Stone Paper.</a><span style=""> Explore </span><a href="http://svn.org/" style="">Social Venture Network</a><span style=""> and then </span><a href="http://svn.org/become-a-member" style="">join in.</a><span style=""> Attend the SVN </span><a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2016-fall-conference" style="">Fall 2016 Conference.</a><span style="">(Image Credit: CWE Online)</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/emma-hill">Emma Hill</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/jemma-blaylock">Jemma Blaylock</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/kibikibi-partners">kibikibi Partners</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/uk-sustainability">UK sustainability</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/green-pip">Green PIP</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/parax-stone-paper">Parax Stone Paper</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/uk-sustainability-consulting">UK sustainability consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/green-consulting">green consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/business-development-london">business development London</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/intelligent-market-penetration">intelligent market penetration</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-fall-conference-2016">SVN Fall Conference 2016</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/finance-and-sri">Finance and SRI</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - 11:00am</span></div></div></div>Tue, 17 May 2016 19:15:45 +0000Julie Fahnestock79954 at http://justmeans.comThe Disruption of Local Living, Investing and Cheesehttp://justmeans.com/blogs/the-disruption-of-local-living-investing-and-cheese
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Mission_Cheese_Staff.jpg"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/resize/inline/u00191/Mission_Cheese_Staff-500x401.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 401px;" width="500" height="401" /></a></p>
<p><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means) - Peering through the window, San Francisco-based Mission Cheese looks like a cool cheese and wine bar, an intimate and hip place for a date or business meeting. Ask a few questions about the Bent River, Marieke Gouda or Fleur de la Valle cheeses that you ordered as part of your Midwest cheese flight, and you soon discover that Mission Cheese loves the cheesemaker just as much as they love the cheeses they sell. Probably more.</span></p>
<p><span style="">In the same way that the fair trade model exists to empower small-scale coffee and chocolate producers, Mission Cheese champions the domestic cheesemaker. For the last five years, founders Sarah Dvorak, Oliver Dameron and Eric Miller have positioned Mission Cheese as a seller of artisanal, American cheeses and as a hub for feedback and growth for the domestic cheese industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Cheese makers are good at making cheese, but not to so good at getting out there and selling it. We are trying to help American cheese makers grow to economies of scale so that domestic cheese making becomes a sustainable industry,” says Dameron.</span></p>
<p><span style="">In the selective choosing of their 400 cheeses from 35 states, Mission Cheese always supports the small-scale producers with the best quality. And as expert cheese tasters, if they prognosticate that a particular variety won’t fare well with their customers--- according to Dameron, people are more definite about what they do and do not like about cheese than wine-- they provide feedback to the cheesemaker. Collaboration with cheese makers is the foundation of their business.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“A cheese might not have been perfect the first time we taste it, but we develop that relationship, provide guidance based on what does well in the market and continue to buy from them. The cool thing about it is that a year later, when their product is amazing, we’ve got first dibs,” says Dameron.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Tamara Hicks, cofounder of northern California, Tomales Farmstead Creamery says the relationship they have with Mission Cheese is invaluable. Cheese makers know their land, know how to care for their animals and how to make cheese. Mission Cheese knows the taste profile of the customer.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“I learn new things about my cheeses from the Mission Cheese staff,” says Hicks. “And what makes Mission Cheese exceptional is they have not compromised their integrity in helping small scale makers succeed. Once a month they take their entire staff out for farm tours and get to know the creameries, the land and owners, the production, all of it.”</span></p>
<p><span style="">It’s almost as if you can taste the intentionality and care of the collaboration. The delicate notes of nuttiness and brown butter in the Gouda I savored at Mission Cheese found their way into a conversation with my friends later that night. But, how Mission Cheese is using their growth opportunity as a catalyst for local and community investment shifted my perception about what’s possible for the local movement: disruption. Quickly outgrowing their 35-seat capacity at Mission Cheese, Dvorak, Dameron and Miller are working to open Maker’s Common, a more expansive wine and cheese bar and a market of American craft goods. How will they raise the $600,000 capital investment? Locally. California residents have the opportunity to invest into Maker’s Common through Direct Public Offerings with a minimum investment of $1,000 for a 4 percent return on a seven-year term. Think of it like crowdfunding except instead of receiving branded swag you never use, your investment actually makes you money. Of course, that is, your ROI comes only if Maker’s Common profits. How does an investor ensure Maker’s Common runs in the black? By savoring more Gouda, tangy blues and yogurty- goat cheeses. This is revolutionary. Closed-loop, local investing. Eat more cheese. Support your town. Put money back into your pocket. Even the cheese makers like Tomales Farmstead Creamery are investing.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“We know Mission Cheese has a larger purpose than selling cheese or making money. If we want the small-scale, cheese industry to exist, we have to step forward. We have to work together to make it work because margins are slim and it’s really hard work. We are excited to be part of a new investment model. It’s this community that keeps us going,” says Hicks.</span></p>
<p><span style="">The larger vision for Dameron and the team at Mission Cheese and Maker’s Common, beyond domestic cheese and artisanal goods, is local investment for entire communities.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Let’s invest $2,000 in our barber shop; $5,000 in the nursery; $1,000 in irrigation. Let’s not be tied to the macro economy because there’s an inherent resiliency in investing locally. We have lost access to this. We are eating locally, shopping locally but not investing locally. Imagine if we put 10 percent of our dollars into the local community—this money would not be impacted by global or national markets,” explains Dameron.</span></p>
<p><span style="">And, we might just know our cheese makers, our gardeners, and the people with whom we share a ZIP code. We might find ourselves rooted in the neighborhoods in which we live and find it easier to stay a little longer. All because where we invest is also where we happy hour. Sounds like disruption to me.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Californians: </span><a href="http://www.makerscommon.net/invest/" style="">Invest</a><span style=""> into </span><a href="http://www.makerscommon.net/" style="">Maker’s Common</a><span style="">. Nocalers and Tourists: </span><a href="http://missioncheese.net/food/" style="">Eat</a><span style=""> at </span><a href="http://missioncheese.net/" style="">Mission Cheese. </a><span style="">Read about the incredible history and intentionality of </span><a href="http://www.tolumafarms.com/creamery.html" style="">Tomales Farmstead Creameries.</a><span style=""> Learn </span><a href="http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/07/on-resiliency-risk-and-cheese/" style="">why</a><span style=""> Jen Boynton, editor at TriplePundit, decided to invest her hard-earned dollars into Maker’s Common.</span></p>
<div>
<p><span style="">I met Oliver Dameron at the </span><a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/past-conferences/2016-spring-conference" style="">Social Venture Network’s Spring 2016 Conference</a><span style="">. He’s one of their newest </span><a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs" style="">Innovation Entrepreneurs</a><span style="">—a program designed to support high-impact leaders. </span><a href="http://svn.org/" style="">SVN</a><span style=""> is by far the best sustainability, business conferences out there. It’s not networking. It’s friendship. More on SVN to come…</span></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/mission-cheese">Mission Cheese</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/makers-common">Maker&#039;s Common</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/tamara-hicks">Tamara Hicks</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/tomales-farmstead-creamery">Tomales Farmstead Creamery</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/innovation-entrepreneurs">Innovation Entrepreneurs</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/american-cheese">American cheese</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/domestic-cheese">domestic cheese</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/san-fran-wine-bar">San Fran wine bar</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/san-fran-cheese-bar">San Fran cheese bar</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sarah-dvorak">Sarah Dvorak</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/oliver-dameron-and-eric-miller">Oliver Dameron and Eric Miller</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 5:30pm</span></div></div></div>Wed, 04 May 2016 21:29:39 +0000Julie Fahnestock79631 at http://justmeans.comJosephine Empowers Home Cooks through Small-Scale Production and Communityhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/josephine-empowers-home-cooks-through-small-scale-production-and-community
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style=""><a href="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Josephine_home_cook.jpg"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/resize/inline/u00191/Josephine_home_cook-750x500.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;" width="750" height="500" /></a></span></p>
<p><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means) - Tapas Tuesday at Patricia’s house. Prahok Khatiss Noodles at Monica and Kelvin’s? Or stop by Kelly’s for Bean Soup with Pancetta? Hungry yet? Sounds better than that frozen pizza or fast food drive-through you’re thinking about tonight, right?</span></p>
<p><span style="">Called the “Uber” of home cooking or “one of the coolest new businesses in America” by </span><em style="">The Atlantic</em><span style=""> and </span><em style="">Business Insider</em><span style=""> respectively, Oakland-based, social enterprise Josephine is an online community of home-based cooks. Josephine’s home chefs describe their experience as a gift of camaraderie, community and sharing. I have a hunch that the latter is exactly how co-founders Charley Wang and Tal Safran think of Josephine, too.</span></p>
<p>So who is “Josephine” and why does she care about home cooking? In 2013 Wang and Tal Safran, both East Coast transplants, found themselves at the kitchen table of a mutual friend’s mother named Josephine in Los Angeles.</p>
<p><span style="">“We were both hustling at companies on the rise, and by luck, we met at Josephine's home [where both Wang and Safran lived for a few months while they settled into L.A.] Sitting to enjoy a home-cooked meal together was such a contrast, a shock to our conventional ladder climbing mentality. So we started talking philosophically around the table. Why do we love home cooking? Is there a future for it? Business has commoditized food on demand, but having meals that were slow and inconvenient felt so much more important, so nourishing,” explains Wang.</span></p>
<p><span style="">And just as the best, made-from-scratch family secrets take time to simmer, bake and meld—usually while drinking a great glass of wine or two—so did the evolution of Josephine over the kitchen table. The main ingredient of the business? To champion the cooks of society — “the givers, the mothers and fathers, the nourishers—for whom giving boldly is the default.” Josephine empowers home cooks who may have limited access to job opportunities or need to be home to care for family and are responsible for daily cooking anyway. Patrons place orders online through the Josephine portal and can order from diverse chefs around Oakland. Prices range from $3 for dessert and $15 for an entree.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Based on small-scale production, Josephine cooks aren’t trying to establish restaurants or manage hundreds of customers. And, the best part, they serve food they are cooking for their own family.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“We decided specifically to focus on cooks who have been excluded from the food industry. Nonprofessionals who are stay at home parents, immigrants who speak English as a second language or people who live in food desserts. We serve the underrepresented and are working to reduce the barriers for entry into the workforce,” says Wang.</span></p>
<p><span style="">As part of the Social Venture Network Innovation Entrepreneur Network, Wang has been introduced to other food justice activists like Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farms.</span></p>
<p>“SVN provides perspective and mentorship. The community has provided varied perspectives. And they have created a brand of businesses that make impact. It would be easy for us to stay the same. But the SVN approach is to make radical and scary changes because we care about continued impact,” explains Wang.</p>
<p><span style="">Josephine is continuing to expand impact through a newly added business curriculum and partnership with Berkeley middle schools. Students can sign-up for marketing and business planning electives which teaches them about the business model of home cooking. A few of the courses also include teaching students how to cook, using the produce from a garden at the school and selling this food in the cafeteria. All of the profits go back into the program, just as they would into a business.</span></p>
<p><span style="">For now, Josephine cooks offer meals in the Bay-area, but Wang and his team are hopeful the model will take off around the country. Stay hungry.</span></p>
<p>______________________________________________________________________________<br /><a href="https://josephine.com/">Sign-up</a> to order meals from Josephine cooks. <a href="https://josephine.com/cooks">Apply</a> to be a cook with Josephine. <a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2016-spring-conference">Join</a> Wang SVN Spring 2016 Conference this April in San Diego. <a href="http://svn.org/meet-our-members/svn-innovation-entrepreneurs">Learn</a> about joining the SVN Social Innovation Entrepreneur Program. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/josephine">Josephine</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/charley-wang">Charley Wang</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/stonyfield-farmssocial-venture-network-innovation-entrepreneur-network">Stonyfield Farms.Social Venture Network Innovation Entrepreneur Network</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/energy">Energy</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - 2:30pm</span></div></div></div>Tue, 22 Mar 2016 18:21:24 +0000Julie Fahnestock78491 at http://justmeans.comWhy The Cat Spring Tea Sisters Value Heritage, Mentorship and Accountability http://justmeans.com/blogs/why-the-cat-spring-tea-sisters-value-heritage-mentorship-and-accountability
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style=""><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/MIT-cat-spring-JennaDee-Abianne.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 450px;" width="800" height="450" /><br /><em>Photo credit: Texas Monthly </em><br />(3BL Media and Just Means) - I don’t think most mission-driven innovators grow up thinking, “Someday, I’d like to be a social entrepreneur.” Rather, the initial thought is more like, “I can’t believe my morning cup of coffee is a result of slave labor.” Or, “Two million Syrian refugees living in Turkey?” The next thoughts are, “What needs to be done about this? And, “What can I personally do about this? How can I raise money and rally my networks?” Dreams turn into impact-driven business models as an emergent social entrepreneur resolves to find a solution.</span></p>
<p>This tenacity drives the story of sisters JennaDee Detro and Abianne Falla, co-founders of Cat Spring Tea and members of Social Venture Network’s Innovation (SVN) Entrepreneurs Program which “focuses on identifying women entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color who are leveraging business for the greater good.” For Detro and Falla, Cat Spring Tea celebrates family values, cultural heritage and the catalyst by which to economically empower their neighbors.<br /><br />Like many people in Cat Spring, Texas, Detro and Falla grew up believing yaupon, a native plant closely related to the holly shrub to be just that, shrubbery. After research and testing, Detro and Falla discovered the rich history and energy-boosting health benefits of yaupon. But Cat Spring Tea is more than a yaupon tea company that sells “sunshine and rainwater in a glass,” as they put it. Their priority is to respect the land and American craftsmanship of farming while simultaneously supporting the people in their community.</p>
<p><span style="">“Once we realized that scaling production of yaupon would require a variety of labor needs, we knew we wanted to use this as a platform for fresh start employment opportunities for those in our community who, like yaupon, are also undervalued,” says Detro.</span></p>
<p><span style="">What their team members say matters—so much so that Detro and Falla have adapted Cat </span><span style="">S</span><span style="">pring</span><span style=""> Tea’s operations based on feedback from their staff. They want to offer real, human-first solutions by building a team and solving production and personnel problems cooperatively. </span></p>
<p><span style="">“One member of our team says she tells new hires, ‘This is a place where you don’t have to make up a reason for not being able to come to work.’ An appointment or car problems are legitimate reasons here,” says Falla.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Detro and Falla give full credit to their grandparents who valued the Texas soil, and to their parents for helping to improve harvesting and developing employment initiatives. Participation in the B Corp and SVN communities has expanded their view of social entrepreneurship and provided rich mentorship.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Sustainability and responsible employment practices are important to us as founders and thus important to our business. We want to build in accountability to these priorities as we grow and we also appreciate the support and expertise available in the B-Corp network,” says Detro.</span></p>
<p><span style="">SVN’s Innovation Entrepreneurs Program has been a “gift” to Detro and Falla, particularly the thirty-minute mentor meetings and the supportive community.</span></p>
<p>“The mindset that an SVN attendee has toward the Innovation Entrepreneurs takes the cake, many conversations include the following: “You should talk to so and so...? Have you thought about…? This reminds me of such and such …? Let me send an intro.” SVN is such an inspiring organization and the caliber of the people we have met has been incredible. The generosity of time and experienced wisdom has been humbling and encouraging,” says Detro.</p>
<p>Falla will be presenting at a pitch workshop Saturday, April 16, as part of the SVN Spring 2016 Conference in San Diego April 14-17. Rest up and join Falla and hundreds of other sustainability business leaders for the weekend of your lifetime. Trust me, it is one, big love-filled, solutions-oriented party.</p>
<p>______________________________________________________________________________</p>
<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/08/04/429071993/heres-the-buzz-on-americas-forgotten-native-tea-plant">Listen</a> to this great NPR story about Cat Spring Tea. <a href="http://www.catspringtea.com/about-cat-spring-tea/">Buy</a> Cat Spring Tea. Follow them on <a href="https://twitter.com/CatSpringTea">Twitter.</a> Attend the <a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2016-spring-conference?gclid=CJLd_ZHe3ckCFU6QHwodj5sINQ">Spring 2016 SVN Conference</a> in San Diego.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/cat-spring-tea">Cat Spring Tea</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/cat-spring-texas">Cat Spring Texas</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/jennadee-detro">JennaDee Detro</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/abianne-falla">Abianne Falla</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/yaupon">yaupon</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/benefit-corp">Benefit Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-certified">B Corp Certified</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svns-innovation-entrepreneurs-program">SVN’s Innovation Entrepreneurs Program</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, March 17, 2016 - 8:00am</span></div></div></div>Thu, 17 Mar 2016 12:21:22 +0000Julie Fahnestock78349 at http://justmeans.comTEAM USA Registry Supports Olympians with Innovative Fundinghttp://justmeans.com/blogs/team-usa-registry-supports-olympians-with-innovative-funding
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.teamusa.org/~/media/TeamUSA/USOC/Registry_CoverStory_800x500.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 500px;" /></p>
<p><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means) - Michael Phelps, Mia Hamm, Apolo Ohno: these are household, Olympic champion names. We know their names because they are incredible athletes. We also know their names because of Nike, General Mills and Got Milk? Phelps, Ham and Ohno, however, are the outliers. According to the U.S. Olympic &amp; Paralympic Foundation (USOPF), they created the common misconception that once you’re an Olympic athlete, you’re set for life financially. The reality is that most Olympic “hopefuls,” as USOPF calls aspiring Olympians, make less than $20,000 a year, far less than what they need to train and compete. Unlike many other nations, Team USA receives no government funding and depends on sponsor and donors to help them compete; it is “the team behind the team,” as they put it.</span></p>
<p><span style="">To support the expensive training, equipment and traveling needs of Olympic-bound athletes, USOPF has established a program called TEAM USA Registry, an online take on a wedding registry, where you can select symbolic gifts representative of expenses that Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls face as they train for the game. Gifts include $15 for swimming goggles, $50 for the care of a guide dog and $250 for a basketball hoop. </span></p>
<p><span style="">“When you pick a gift to donate on the site, you’re not only donating to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation’s Team USA Fund, you’re also getting a window into the life of an Olympic hopeful,” says USOPF.</span></p>
<p><span style="">TEAM USA Registry has received the support of very successful USA Olympians including Natalie Coughlin, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Missy Franklin who asked their fans to be their Secret Santa and donate. If you’ve waited till the last minute to put your Santa hat on, browse through the registry and support Team USA!</span></p>
<p><a href="https://registry.teamusa.org/" style="">Purchase a gift</a><span style=""> on TEAM USA Registry. </span><a href="http://www.teamusa.org/us-olympic-and-paralympic-foundation" style="">Support</a><span style=""> the U.S. Olympic &amp; Paralympic Foundation.</span></p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/team-usa-registry">TEAM USA Registry</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/us-olympic-paralympic-foundation">U.S. Olympic &amp; Paralympic Foundation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/natalie-coughlin">Natalie Coughlin</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/kerri-walsh-jennings-and-missy-franklin">Kerri Walsh Jennings and Missy Franklin</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/michael-phelps">Michael Phelps</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/mia-hamm">Mia Hamm</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/apolo-ohno">Apolo Ohno</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, December 18, 2015 - 12:30pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 18 Dec 2015 17:31:48 +0000Julie Fahnestock76349 at http://justmeans.comLeading with Love at Work is the Answerhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/leading-with-love-at-work-is-the-answer
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/RTC_Team_Photo.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 492px;" width="800" height="492" /></p>
<p><em style="">(Photo Credit: Round Table Companies Facebook page.)</em></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means)—I did not expect to consider the meaning of love when I attended the Social Venture Network (SVN) 2015 Conference in Baltimore. With my sales pitch and freshly printed business cards, I was prepared to impress a couple of hundred new connections. On the first night when Deb Nelson, Executive Director of SVN, said that 15 years ago, love drew her into the SVN community, I realized I might need to rethink my strategy.</p>
<p>Social Venture Network-ers love to love. Like the kind of love that at first makes you feel awkward because you know it’s real, raw and unadulterated. Scary moments of vulnerability creep up on you unexpectedly, and you find yourself giving into the openness of your heart with another person, completely forgetting the three business goals for which you decided to take time off work and come to the SVN conference. This happened to me the first night when I unintentionally sat next to Corey Blake, founder and CEO Round Table Companies, a branding and storytelling company for thought leaders. You would think two storytellers sitting next to each other at dinner would indulge their inner nerds and spend the evening debating the meaning of depreciated words like sustainability. At the least, I expected to hear about how RTC was changing the world. Blake surprised me with a teaching on love at work. (He also surprised with me a huge tattoo of the word love scripted across his arm.)</p>
<p>In fact, Blake has made a name for himself as “The Love Guy.” Love, Blake told me, is the core of who they are at RTC, and love is what they offer to their clients and in their work. But it wasn’t always that way. Six years into running the business, Blake was stressed out. He would “vomit his stress on other people,” causing his colleagues to absorb his negativity.</p>
<p>“I was sucking the joy out of the company when I was coming to work from that place of stress,” says Blake.</p>
<p>A close friend and former RTC chief operating officer confronted Blake. He told him that if he didn’t address this, RTC would lose a lot of their talented staff. It was a wake-up call for Blake and from that season on, Blake intentionally shifted his approach by doubling down on his own personal development. Soon after, a love-driven culture emerged at RTC.</p>
<p>“We started asking ourselves, ‘What would it look like to bring love to a challenge? How do I come from a place of love with someone who is triggering something in me?’” explains Blake.</p>
<p>Blake described to me what love looks like in practice at RTC:</p>
<p>1. Offering Focused Presence: Each “teammate,” as Blake describes his employees, aspires to offer a 100 percent presence with people. With clients and with colleagues, this means active listening, directed focus, an engaged attitude and always remembering to look for the best in others. This has allowed RTC to retain clients they might have otherwise viewed as misaligned with their values.</p>
<p>“As we support someone in their life story, a lot can rise to the surface for them, like unhealed pain,” explains Blake. “In response, the client might avoid the project for a week or two. So, when they miss a conference call, instead of saying “We were all waiting on a call for you and you never showed up,” we shift it to a perspective of understanding and say, “We are aware of some challenges with your project. Can we hop on the phone to hear how this process is going for you?”</p>
<p>2. Personal Development: RTC pays an executive coach a monthly retainer so that teammates have support with personal and professional challenges. Teammates also attend RTC University, an online training platform which serves as a best practice guide for love. A tutorial on setting boundaries with clients, for example, teaches teammates how to honor their clients as they share personal stories while loving themselves and noticing their own trigger points.</p>
<p>3. Intentional Vulnerability: Or rather as an RTC company mantra puts it: “Vulnerability is sexy.” In part, this means owning personal mistakes and working through conflict together. It also means recognizing the humanity in one another and in their clients.</p>
<p>“All of us are dealing with something: sick children, sick parents, financial stress, something at work that pokes at us in the gut. At RTC, we create a safe place where people can be real. We can feel closer, build on the trust we share in that environment to do the best work we are capable of doing,” says Blake.</p>
<p>As a completely virtual company, RTC has learned to build love and trust through online and phone relationships. Their newest endeavor, Path to Purpose, is a monthly subscription service for people looking to re-author how they show up in the world. Members will have access to articles, videos, assignments, group coaching calls, live seminars/webinars, and a private community for support. The program will offer complete tracks to support members in articulating their purpose, sharing their story, creating a thought leadership platform, and monetizing their tribe. Path to Purpose goes live in 2016, but if you have some free time over the holidays, check out the beta version online now. It’s free.</p>
<p>Love in business is good for business, too. Five years ago, 20 percent of RTC’s clients were their ideal customers. Today, it’s more than 90 percent. And, in 2016, RTC plans to double their staff. Not bad for a company with only 10 years behind it. Maybe, love is the answer, like the ‘70s band England Dan and John Ford Coley have been telling us all these years.</p>
<p>“We are addicted to love. It generates great results and we all get to go to bed, knowing we gave our best to a fellow human being,” says Blake.</p>
<p>______________________________________________________________________________<br /><a href="http://www.roundtablecompanies.com/upcoming/path-to-purpose">Sign-up</a> for the beta version of Path to Purpose. <a href="http://www.roundtablecompanies.com/blog">Read</a> the awesome, Round Table Companies blog. <a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2016-spring-conference?gclid=CJLd_ZHe3ckCFU6QHwodj5sINQ">Register</a> for the Social Venture Network Conference in spring 2016. <a href="http://svn.org/join-svn">Learn</a> about becoming an SVN Member. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/round-table-companies">Round Table Companies</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/rtc">RTC</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/path-to-purpose">Path to Purpose</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/corey-blake">Corey Blake</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/leading-with-love">Leading with Love</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/vulnerability-is-sexy">Vulnerability is Sexy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, December 16, 2015 - 10:00am</span></div></div></div>Wed, 16 Dec 2015 15:04:28 +0000Julie Fahnestock76264 at http://justmeans.comThree Champions Create Social Enterprise from Tragedyhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/three-champions-create-social-enterprise-from-tragedy
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/DSC_7515.JPG"><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/resize/inline/u00191/DSC_7515-600x400.JPG" style="width: 600px; height: 400px;" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><em>(Left: April De Simone speaking. Middle: Frederick Hutson. Right: Britnie Turner)</em></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means) - Frederick Hutson, Co-Founder of Pigeonly; Britnie Turner, Founder and CEO of Aerial Development Group; and April De Simone, Co-Founder of Designing the WE, sit side by side—unlikely people to be sharing a panel together. At the Social Venture Network Fall 2015 Conference, Laura Flanders, successful media guru and host of The Laura Flanders Show, interviewed these three “champions,” showcasing the power of overcoming tragedy through the power of social enterprise.</p>
<p>Meet<strong> Frederick Hutson, Co-Founder of Pigeonly</strong></p>
<p>Indicted for the possession of marijuana, Hutson served five years in federal prison. Inside, he was exposed to a world he had no idea existed. While in a halfway house, he called his now co-founder of Pigeonly and described the fundamental inequalities he saw around communication in prison with its link to recidivism.</p>
<p>“People who had the means to pay the expensive costs, whether it be a dollar per minute for a 15- minute phone call or to afford to pay for family members to visit, those people were less likely to return to prison,” says Hutson.</p>
<p>Hutson knew there was an opportunity to step into the tech market and lessen the distance and communication gaps between those in prison and those on the outside who support people inside. Pigeonly offers a variety of communication products including photo sharing, information sharing and a local phone number which eliminates expensive bills. Making that five-minute phone call, like we see inmates do in the movies, can cost upward of $40.</p>
<p>“Our company will always generate a local number based on the facility so the family always qualifies for local rates as opposed to a long distance rate,” says Hutson.</p>
<p>Meet<strong> April De Simone, Co-Founder of Designing the WE</strong></p>
<p>De Simone is fueled to create a built environment and design things that beautify and celebrate humanity because she knows what it’s like to live in devastation and bleakness. De Simone grew up in the Bronx in a neighborhood that lost 80 percent of its housing options due to the infamous Bronx burning fires and failed policies. Commercial corridors lacked the necessary resources to grow, eventually becoming ghost towns.</p>
<p>“Those of us with assets and privilege, fled. For those who couldn't leave, we stood on the front line of some of the most devastating epidemics this country has ever seen. Heroine, AIDs, which my father succumbed to, crack and violence made dreaming and having hope very hard. It was in these experiences that instilled a tremendous amount of humility in my heart. It made me realize how ugly and how unequal our world is. That's what led to Designing the WE,” De Simone explains.</p>
<p>For the last 15 years, De Simone has advocated for social innovation and market-based design solutions. Birthed from this perspective, Designing the WE is a New York City-based Benefit Corporation which facilitates collaborative processes in order to redefine how systems are approached and to identify opportunities for action and co-designs strategies centered on resilient change. They’ve worked to pass the nation’s first, community Bill of Rights and natural gas fracking ban with Groundswell PA and to create a farm model with Capital City Farm which serves the needs of the local community. To me, their most innovative work is a framework for addressing historic transformations of cities and towns and race in America called Undesign the Red Line Starting in the 1930s, maps were defined according to areas of ripe for investment. Neighborhoods deemed unworthy of investment were outlined in red. According to Designing the WE, these areas were defined almost entirely on race. Today, this system endures and Designing the WE has created a toolkit for institutions to understand and develop new models.</p>
<p>“If we don’t use the design process to influence policy and how we appropriate space, we are going to continue to move into the future on the back of structural inequality,” says De Simone.</p>
<p>Meet<strong> Britnie Turner, Founder of Aerial Development Group</strong></p>
<p>At 12 years old, Turner dreamed of working with orphans in Africa. She knew she wanted to be useful to them, but wasn’t sure how, until she discovered real estate development. She began her career in the middle of the 2008 recession; fast forward to her early 20s, and Turner found herself homeless in Nashville, living in her car, with thousands of dollars of credit card debt. For three years, she struggled to survive. Randomly, Turner met a group of people in rehab, working in construction. Because she had nothing left to lose, she volunteered her time with them, learning to design, manage and construct projects. Her vision was to learn to flip houses in order to live overseas to work with orphans. Unbeknownst to her, this was the beginning of Aerial Development Group.</p>
<p>“I learned that real estate doesn’t just generate cash, but that approached intentionally it can redevelop communities and create jobs,” says Turner.</p>
<p>That’s exactly what Aerial Development Group does. Dedicated to the full-circle revitalization of Nashville’s urban neighborhoods, it invests into communities and focus development in transitional neighborhoods. A full service real estate company, the Group also buys and sells homes in emerging neighborhoods of Nashville. With a percentage of their profits, Aerial Development Group supports orphans in Africa and Nashville-based organizations. Every time they sell a home, they sponsor a child in a Kenyan orphanage for one year in the name of the homeowner. According to their blog:</p>
<p>“This is what motivates our team at Aerial Development Group, It is the <em>why</em> behind our real estate development company.”</p>
<p>Listening to Hutson, De Simone and Turner vulnerably share their tragedies isn’t what inspired me and the rest of us at the Social Venture Network gathering. Their tenacity, hard work, and community-based approach—this is what we talked about over coffee the next morning. It reminded me that even in the hardest, most confusing experiences there is opportunity to learn, to connect with the community and to overcome for the sake of others. Your present challenge might just be your next business.</p>
<p><a href="https://pigeon.ly/">Tell</a> your family and friends how they can connect with their loved ones in prison through the services of Pigeonly. <a href="http://www.designingthewe.com/undesign-the-redline">Check out</a> Designing the WE’s Undesign the Red Line toolkit. <a href="http://www.aerialdevelopmentgroup.com/selling-homes-and-helping-orphans/">Read</a> how Aerial Development Group is giving back in Kenya. <a href="http://www.svn.org/">Join</a> Social Venture Network and <a href="http://svn.org/attend-an-event/2016-spring-conference">attend</a> the next gathering in San Diego, April 14-17.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/april-de-simone">April De Simone</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/britnie-turner">Britnie Turner</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fred-hutson">Fred Hutson</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/pigeonly">Pigeonly</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/designing-the-we-0">Designing the We</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/aerial-development-group">Aerial Development Group</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/benefit-corporation">Benefit Corporation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/undesign-the-red-line">Undesign the Red Line</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network">Social Venture Network</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn">SVN</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-gathering">SVN Gathering</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-conference">SVN Conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/social-venture-network-conference">Social Venture Network Conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-east">SVN East</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-west">SVN West</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-fall">SVN Fall</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/svn-spring">SVN Spring</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ben-and-jerrys">Ben and Jerrys</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/net-impact">Net Impact</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/stonyfield-farm">Stonyfield Farm</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, December 11, 2015 - 2:30pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 11 Dec 2015 19:32:13 +0000Julie Fahnestock76173 at http://justmeans.comBetter Hearing in the Dominican Republic Provided by Hear the World Foundation and Sonova Group http://justmeans.com/blogs/better-hearing-in-the-dominican-republic-provided-by-hear-the-world-foundation-and-sonova
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Camil_Looking_at_Shenoa_BW_MI.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 535px;" width="800" height="535" /><br />(<em>Camil looking at sister Shenoa. Photo Credit: Michael Edmond Isaac)</em></p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means)—Sisters Camil and Shenoa bounce around the playground at Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos in a busy neighborhood of Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. They show me how they can do handstands and other acrobatic tricks as their parents proudly inform me of their daughters’ achievements. At just 12 years old, Camil participates in one of the country’s national junior, volleyball leagues. She’s tall and strong and plays the position of “atacador,” she tells me. Her father has high hopes Camil will make a career out of volleyball and is saving money to take her to Puerto Rico for an important tournament.</p>
<p>I ask Camil several questions about what she likes about playing volleyball. I can tell she’s having trouble reading my lips and understanding my accent. Her father repeats my questions slowly and encourages Camil to look at me and answer me directly. She tries, though her responses are broken and muffled. The confident athlete who 15 minutes earlier proudly demonstrated her cartwheels becomes shy and timid as she speaks.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Camil_Smiling_Color_Michael_Isaac.jpg" style="width: 401px; height: 600px;" width="401" height="600" /><br /><em>(Camil speaking with me. Photo Credit: Michael Isaac). </em></p>
<p>Both Camil and Shenoa were born with severe hearing loss. When Camil was one year old, her mother discovered her unresponsiveness during the annual December fireworks. Shenoa’s severe hearing loss was detected at three months, her mother being acutely aware of the signals for deafness. The cause for the hearing loss in both girls remains unknown, though it does not run in their family.</p>
<p><span style="">Miguel Evangelista, Director of the Audiology Program at Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos--a robust medical center, offering extensive services to some of the poorest residents in the Dominican Republic--explains to me that Camil and Shenoa received hearing aids in the past, but because their hearing loss is so severe, the aids did not provide sufficient support.</span></p>
<p>“Both patients have received hearing therapy and came to the clinic today to be fitted with MAX hearing aids,” says Evangelista.</p>
<p>In 2010, Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos partnered with the Hear the World Foundation, a nonprofit whose goal is to enable as many people as possible to enjoy better hearing. Founded by Swiss-based hearing aid manufacturer Phonak, a brand of the Sonova Group, the Hear the World Foundation is financed by Sonova Group and its missional-inspired employees who often fundraise to support projects around the globe. Nicole Hunter, Hospital Administrator of Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos, applied for a partnership with Hear the World Foundation when she saw the need for audiology services for the hundreds of children the medical center serves daily. She knew that the island lacked hearing support services and that children with hearing loss were among the most marginalized. However, before the center could provide hearing aids and screenings to patients, Hunter recognized that they needed to build a strong team of audiologists. The first step in the partnership with the Hear the World Foundation was to launch the first audiology training program in the Dominican Republic.</p>
<p>“Our training program brings in new medical students and builds the capacity of the clinic,” says Hunter. “Our goal is to train enough audiologists so that they can serve patients in each of our four sub-centers across the city.” <br /><br />So far, 15 Dominicans students have been trained as audiologists, and the Hear the World Foundation has invested $275,000 in hearing aids, batteries, diagnostic equipment and monetary distributions. To me, this piece is corporate social responsibility at its finest: Not only does the Hear the World Foundation provide funding, diagnostic equipment and hearing aids for partners like Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos, the Sonova Group also provides employees with paid time off to offer their expertise and training skills.</p>
<p>During my visit with Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos, Olga Guzman, a Sonova Group Technical Audiologist from an office in Bogota, Colombia trained new audiology students to properly fit children with Unitron hearing aids. Together with Guzman, Sarah Kreienbuehl, GVP Corporate HRM and Communications at Sonova Group and Board Member of the Hear the World Foundation and Michael Isaac, Director of Media Relations of Sonova Group and photographer, I watched children experience the sound of their mothers’ voices for the first time. Some of the children were startled with the loud and noisy world around them. Others turned their heads quickly as we knocked on walls and doors, responding to a variety of vibrations. Watching a child look up at their mother as they heard her say their name evoked emotion in all of us. These are moments I will never forget. These are moments made possible because of the Hear the World Foundation’s long-term commitments to building audiological infrastructure in the world’s poorest nations.</p>
<p>According to the Hear the World Foundation’s 2013-2014 report and research from the World Health Organization, only 5.2 percent of low income countries have more than one audiologist per million population, compared to 87.5 percent of high income countries. In developing nations like the Dominican Republic where audiologists are few, sign language education and deaf support systems are also rare. Detecting hearing loss in young children is essential because left untreated, the academic and career options for a person with hearing loss are extremely limited, often resulting in a life of exclusion and poverty. It’s not a future Sonova Group will accept.</p>
<p>“We can’t say our vision [at Sonova Group] is to live in a world where everyone enjoys hearing and not do something about creating access for those in developing nations,” Kreienbuehl says. “Our aim is to invest into locally-based partners with the potential for long-term sustainability.”</p>
<p>And they are picky about the partners they choose. They have to be, Kreienbuehl tells me. Hear the World Foundation receives more than a hundred applications every year and looks for specific check points in each one.</p>
<p>“How will the partner reach out to parents? How will they collaborate with local governments? Do they work with the insurance system? If there are in-country experts, do they collaborate with them? How will they support the patients after the hearing aid fitting? How will they create self-sustaining revenue?” Kreienbuehl explains to me.<br /><br />With a 30-year history of successfully providing medical services to the poor, Center Cristiano de Servicios Medicos was a natural partner for the Hear the World Foundation. Phase two of the partnership includes the launch of the first, newborn screening clinic in the Dominican Republic. In collaboration with one of Santo Domingo’s largest, public hospitals—where 19,000 babies are born every year--a team of audiologists will use high-tech equipment to screen babies for hearing loss, hours after they are born.</p>
<p>“Based on annual birthrates, we can assume a minimum of 400 newborns with congenital hearing impairment per year. The screenings will start with premature babies first because they are at higher risk for hearing loss,” says Hunter.</p>
<p>The newborn screening program will prevent families from haphazardly discovering deafness in their toddlers. Parents like those of Camil and Shenoa won’t have to worry if their daughters will have delayed language development—or hear their volleyball teammates yell from across the court to set the ball.</p>
<div>
<p>“Camil has been asking when she was going to get a better hearing device,” her father tells me. “She couldn’t wait for this day to come.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hear-the-world.com/en/how-we-help/our-projects/projects-201516/setting-up-a-pediatric-care-program.html" style="">See</a><span style=""> the partnership between Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos &amp; Hear the World. </span><a href="http://www.sonova.com/sites/default/files/2013_2014_Hear%20the%20World%20Foundation_Activity%20Report_0.pdf" style="">Read</a><span style=""> the 2013/2014 Hear the World Foundation Report. </span><a href="http://www.hear-the-world.com/en/how-we-help/our-projects.html" style="">Check out</a><span style=""> where Hear the World invests around the world. </span><a href="http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2015/11/6/57104/Charities-give-Dominican-Republic-youngsters-the-gift-of-sight-and-sound" style="">Read</a><span style=""> about Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos in Santo Domingo. </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CanYouHearTheWorld/?fref=ts&amp;ref=br_tf" style="">Like</a><span style=""> Hear the World on Facebook. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hear_the_world" style="">Follow</a><span style=""> them on Twitter and </span><a href="https://instagram.com/htw_foundation/" style="">their feed</a><span style=""> on Instagram. </span></p>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/centro-cristiano-de-servicios-medicos">Centro Cristiano de Servicios Medicos</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/hear-the-world">Hear the World</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/hear-the-world-foundation">Hear the World Foundation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sonova">Sonova</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sonova-group">Sonova Group</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/phonak">Phonak</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/unitron">Unitron</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/audiology-in-dominican-republic">audiology in Dominican Republic</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/first-newborn-hearing-clinic-in-dr">first newborn hearing clinic in DR</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/nicole-hunter">Nicole Hunter</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/olga-guzman">Olga Guzman</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/a-sonova-group-technical-audiologist">a Sonova Group Technical Audiologist</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sarah-kreienbuehl">Sarah Kreienbuehl</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/gvp-corporate-hrm-and-communications-at-sonova-group-and-board-member-of-the-hear-the-world">GVP Corporate HRM and Communications at Sonova Group and Board Member of the Hear the World Foundation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/michael-isaac">Michael Isaac</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/director-of-media-relations-of-sonova-group">Director of Media Relations of Sonova Group</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/world-health-organization">World Health Organization</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, November 20, 2015 - 9:30am</span></div></div></div>Fri, 20 Nov 2015 14:37:29 +0000Julie Fahnestock75634 at http://justmeans.comThe Business Case for B Corps: The Secret’s Out, Part 2http://justmeans.com/blogs/the-business-case-for-b-corps-the-secrets-out-part-2
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style=""><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/inline/u00191/Screenshot_2015-10-21_15.38.06.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 585px;" width="800" height="585" />(3BL Media and Just Means) - The movement is growing. Fast. 1,400+ B Corps worldwide. And, the community is partnering together in incredible ways. Sustainable Harvest, for example, a global coffee importer focused on building relationships with farmers, is selling a new coffee, using a 100 percent B Corp supply chain. (More on that story coming soon.) More and more business owners are realizing the value of the B Corp model. Happier employees, tangible environmental impact, greater accountability—it’s easy to see these effects. But how many B Corps actualize an impact on the third “p” in the triple bottom line, as in “Profits”?</span></p>
<p>A few weeks ago, I gave away a few of the best kept secrets about B Corp consulting. After participating in the “Secrets of B Corp Consulting,” a four-week, webinar series offered by Honeyman Consulting and Conscious Brands, I became confident in my understanding of the model, how to add value to companies and how to get started as bona fide B Corp Consultant. (In case you missed it, check out the link to it below.) My biggest hang up during the series was understanding the return on investment of the B Corp certification for clients. I know business owners can expect to see an increase in employee engagement and retention, a protection of the company’s mission and access to an incredibly supportive community. But, “give it to me in dollars, Honeyman,” I kept thinking. How much moolah can a midsized company expect to see in the bank account after spending a few thousand dollars to certify? And, shouldn’t I know the answer to this as a B Corp consultant? How do I pitch financial results? I wasn’t the only one in my cohort wondering about the business case for B Corps. As Christian Greico, President of Optimus One, put it:</p>
<p>“On one hand it [the ROI of the B Corp model] focuses on the prolific paradigm of measuring success exclusively in financial terms. On the other, it's practical, and who wouldn't want to equate a dollar returned for a dollar invested?”</p>
<p>Turns out, the business case for B Corps is still a bit of an enigma, especially to those of us new to the model. If that’s you, well, today’s your lucky day. Be mystified no longer. The “Secrets of B Corp Consulting” series revealed the following:</p>
<p>Business Case Secret #1:</p>
<p><strong>The financial ROI is seldom the reason a company becomes a B Corp</strong>.</p>
<p>“I think it’s disingenuous to say that becoming a Certified B Corporation will definitely save you hundreds of thousands of dollars. I believe companies will save money, but the savings might be realized in a different form of ROI,” explains Honeyman. </p>
<p>According to Honeyman, redirecting the conversation to attracting and retaining talent and increasing brand value is more effective. So, how then does a B Corp consultant steer the understanding away from the nitty gritty numerals and back to the bigger picture? Honeyman lays it out in two examples:</p>
<p>Example 1: The client could say “what's the ROI on this?" Your response could be "Well, let me ask you a question. What has been your experience with staff turnover? Is it hard to retain the best folks?" You could also say: "B Corps are very appealing to millennial talent, which are now estimated to be 50 percent of the global workforce. People want to work for a company that is about more than just profits, and the B Corp logo communicates that quickly and effectively."</p>
<p>Example 2: For increasing brand value, you could say, "Purpose-driven companies are the future of business. B Corp certification is a fantastic way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. It associates your brand with well-known thought leaders like Patagonia, Ben &amp; Jerry's, Etsy and Seventh Generation."</p>
<p>Essentially, says Honeyman, you’re answering their question without saying a number. Grieco suggests helping the client to identify the low-hanging, cost saving activities first so at least the cost of the certification is covered.</p>
<p>“I am of the opinion that any return cannot be calculated until effort, focus and action is quantified on the sustainable operations side of the house. It may be that this client may need to first focus on the low hanging operational efficiency fruit that probably exists but they cannot see. If you help them identify it by instituting operational improvements that will save them money, those savings could be used to fund the cost of certifying,” says Greico.</p>
<p>But if you’re like me and you’re not so sure you can sell the model by avoiding numbers, keep reading. There is a quantifiable value for the cost savings in the B Corp model.</p>
<p>Business Case Secret #2:<br /><br /><strong>B Corps have enjoyed more than $5 million in savings and have accessed technology, talent and expertise for their businesses. </strong></p>
<p>How do I know this? B Lab has helped track the savings of B Corps through various “B Lab service partner discounts.” Larger corporations who understand the value of the B Corp model offer discounted membership and products and often, B Corps offer discounts to one another for their services. But I hear that skeptic in you asking, “Really? Discounts? How much is that saving a company or two?”</p>
<p>According to B Lab, BetterWorldBooks has saved close to $300,000 on discounts on CRM licenses from Salesforce, credit card processing from Inspire Commerce and marketing via free ads and business leads. Still skeptical? King Arthur Flour is making impact and eating their cake too. They’ve saved over $76,000 on press hits, recruiting talent, campaign ads and CRM licenses from Salesforce. The business case for Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate is just as impressive. A whopping $99,500 has been saved through service partner discounts including software from NetSuite, a free GIIRS Rating and free ads in a national B Corp ad campaign.</p>
<p>For all of you up and coming B Corp Consultants, I’d say finding the financial savings through service partner discounts for your clients is convincing way to pitch the model. B Corps aren’t charities. The first two P’s of the triple bottom line, People and Planet, need that third P in Profit to keep the movement growing and the impact thriving. That’s no secret.</p>
<p>Read Part 1 <a href="http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/the-secrets-out-b-corp-consulting-is-the-coolest-gig">The Secret’s Out: B Corp Consulting is Coolest Gig</a> of this series. Check out the work of<a href="http://consciousbrands.com/"> Conscious Brands</a> and<a href="http://www.honeymanconsulting.com/"> Honeyman Consulting</a>. Order your copy of<a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/b-corp-handbook"> The B Corp Handbook.</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/b-corps-0">B Corps</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-consulting">B Corp Consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-certified">B Corp Certified</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ryan-honeyman">Ryan Honeyman</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/honeyman-consulting">Honeyman Consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/secrets-of-b-corp-consulting">Secrets of B Corp Consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/the-b-corp-handbook">The B Corp Handbook</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/roi-of-b-corps">ROI of B Corps</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/benefit-corporation">Benefit Corporation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-lab">B Lab</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/better-world-books">Better World Books</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/king-arthur-flour">King Arthur Flour</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/christian-greico">Christian Greico</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/finance-and-sri">Finance and SRI</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 3:30pm</span></div></div></div>Wed, 21 Oct 2015 19:46:20 +0000Julie Fahnestock74756 at http://justmeans.comAlter Eco Owns a Full Circle of Sustainability via Home Compostable Packaging http://justmeans.com/blogs/alter-eco-owns-a-full-circle-of-sustainability-via-home-compostable-packaging
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://www.alterecofoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Decomposed_wrapper.jpg" />(3BL Media and Just Means) - Pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin biscotti. I think I even saw pumpkin Oreos this week. If you’re concerned about climate change, you might want to think again before spending too many dollars on prepackaged, squash-flavored goodies. Packaging accounts for the third largest portion of the globe’s carbon emissions. According to the Duke Center for Sustainability and Commerce, the United States generates an estimated 220 million tons of waste—every, single year. Big brands are well aware of this. Alter Eco Foods, a San Francisco-based B Corp and organic, fair trade, organic, non-GMO food producer, is working hard to make it easy for the pumpkin-craving consumers to indulge, guilt-free.</p>
<p>Alter Eco calls their commitment to sustainability in the production and supply chains of their chocolate truffles, quinoa, sugar and rice, a “full circle of sustainability.” Owning the packaging waste from their delicious candies (try the Sea Salt Chocolate Truffles) is one part of the circle, albeit super impressive. Alter Eco could have easily saved money and research time by switching to recyclables. Nope. They are working hard to make 100 percent of their packaging as fully sustainable as possible. Alter Eco chocolate truffle wrappers, for example, are made of birch and eucalyptus, printed with nontoxic ink that will fully decompose in backyards and compost bins. After just six weeks, the truffle wrappers are almost completely composted—even the metalized layer. They tested it by burying the wrapper into an indoor basil plant. Instead of growing around the wrapper, the plant grows through it, seeing it as a nutrient source. (Check out the link for the video below).</p>
<p>Certified Home Compostable truffle wrappers are just the beginning for Alter Eco. By 2016, their Royal Black, Royal Red, Royal Pearl and Royal Rainbow quinoa pouches will also be 100 percent compostable. For those us without access to city compost bins, Alter Eco suggests consumers bury the wrappers in our garden, stick them in the green bins for yard waste, or throw it in the fireplace. However, don’t recycle it; it will be a contaminant to paper-recycling due to its “plasticized” nature.</p>
<p>Why else should you buy all of your fall and holiday goodies from this “Best for the World” B Corp? They love small farmers. They’ve purchased $8.9 million of cacao for their truffles from 10 partner cooperatives and paid $246,047 in fair trade premiums, all of it given back to the 44 communities that help produce Alter Eco’s foods, helping to develop programs for education, health, finances and more. They utilize the fair trade model AND have direct relationships with the producers. Oh and, did I mention the silky, milky, close-your-eyes-and-slowly-savor, Velvet Truffles? Before you give into Halloween’s cheap chocolate craze, remind yourself that you do care about the planet’s future and check out the goodness of Alter Eco.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/8AN0Mkiqz9Y">Watch</a> this cool video of a truffle wrapper turned basil plant. <a href="http://www.alterecofoods.com/sustainability/socially-just/">Meet</a> the small farmers. <a href="http://www.alterecofoods.com/product-category/chocolate/">Order</a> your partner some chocolates. <a href="http://www.alterecofoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Alter-Eco_Best-for-the-World-Press-Release_FINAL.pdf">Check out</a> why Alter Eco is a Best for the World B Corp. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/alter-eco">Alter Eco</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/best-for-the-world">Best for the World</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/non-gmo">non gmo</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fair-trade">Fair Trade</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/home-compostable">Home Compostable</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, October 16, 2015 - 11:30am</span></div></div></div>Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:46:33 +0000Julie Fahnestock74634 at http://justmeans.comUsing Candles to Empower Women and End Poverty: A B Corp Storyhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/using-candles-to-empower-women-and-end-poverty-a-b-corp-story
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0236/6289/files/About_header1_text.png?2065" style="width: 900px; height: 365px;" /></p>
<p><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means)- It started over cannoli in a small bakery in Northampton, Massachusetts. Ted Barber and his business comrade, Amber Chand, knew they wanted to help put an end to poverty and that investing in women in places of conflict and chaos was where they wanted to start. The product needed to be easy to make at home, scalable and be sold for a living wage. With absolutely no experience in candle-making, Ted and Amber launched a candle company.</span></p>
<p>Previously, Barber worked on the ground in poverty alleviation for 10 years with aid agencies and NGOs, the goal to build the capacity of small businesses through strategy training. He often presented to rooms full of women, who had left the fields, dressed in their finest clothing, eager to learn skills so their lives could be improved. Looking back, Barber isn’t sure how many lives his years of capacity-building training improved. </p>
<p>“At one point working in northern Rwanda, I couldn’t say with confidence that a single woman was more able to put food on her table, buy medicine or send her children to school [as a result of my training]. So much about building capacity is that immediate impact is five years out and the impact is negligible,” says Barber.</p>
<p>Barber knew there was a better way and that to be sustainable, the solution had to come from the marketplace, a business designed to specifically lift women out of poverty. Why women? Because according to Barber, the World Bank, the United Nations and many academics, female entrepreneurship leads to healthier families, educated children and less corruption in government. From his personal experience, Barber says it’s about creating a balanced society. </p>
<p>“It’s not about putting more women into positions of power than men. It’s about creating a balanced society. And when it comes to business, I will invest in women every time. Women more often spend money on their children's education and well-being, which helps break the cycle of poverty. Too many men waste money on vices,” says Barber. </p>
<p>In the last few years, Prosperity Candle has built relationships with hundreds of women refugees impacted by war and natural disasters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti and even in the United States. Under the Prosperity Candle umbrella, women entrepreneurs can choose the working model which best suits their needs and the limitations of their country. In Iraq, for example, centralized production is impossible, so the women create the candles at home and can choose to sell locally, set their own prices and work as independent entrepreneurs. Iraqi women can also choose to export and sell their candles to Prosperity Candle.</p>
<p>“It’s entirely their choice if they want to sell to us,” explains Barber. “We step in as a fair trade importer and provide incentives for quality control. We employed a cooperative-style model where after the product is sold they get a share in the success.”</p>
<p>Reinforcing the important of high quality products is crucial for Barber. Turning away a batch of candles, liquidating them for a loss, is the hardest part of Barber’s job.<br /><br />“We are still a business through and through. A business with heart, but still a business. We tell the women, ‘here’s the kind of product we will buy from you. If you don’t meet these standards, we can’t purchase from you.’ This is a critical part of our model, in terms of sustainable impact,” says Barber.</p>
<p>Quality trainings have reduced the product rejection rate from 30 percent to 5 percent. Even if it means Barber creating an ad hoc candle-making shop in his kitchen in the middle of the night and Skyping with 40 Iraqi women, he is committed to increasing volume and improving quality in order to help the entrepreneurs grow their profits.</p>
<p>To me, the most incredible part of the Prosperity Candle approach is how they contextualize their model for each nation, each group of women. Here’s how the purchase of candles has empowered women entrepreneurs:</p>
<p><u>Iraq:</u> 130 women, mostly widows, have been trained in candle-making and business skills to start their own enterprise; 100 additional women trained by other organizations using Prosperity Candle concepts and business-in-a-box kits. Prosperity Candle has invested over $125,000 to support the entrepreneurs, loaned over $18,000 for the purchase of equipment and supplies and paid the women close to $30,000 for 7,340 candles. <br /><br /><u>Haiti:</u> 12 Haitian women, many from women's shelters, have been trained in candle-making and business skills to start their own cooperative. <span style=" "> </span>In partnership with its sister nonprofit, Prosperity Catalyst, Prosperity Candle has invested $15,000 and 600 volunteer hours in product, quality and business training. Through the purchase of 2002 candles, $2,574 has been paid to the Haitian candle-makers.</p>
<p><u>United States:</u> Prosperity Candle trained 12 women, relocated from refugee camps through United Nations federal and state programs, after living in camps for 5-17 years. Prosperity Candle asked what the women needed in terms of employment. The women were clear: living wages, steady incomes, flexible work hours, understanding from an employer about their language barrier, time commitments and other refugee status requirements, fair treatment, company-provided transportation, and help with health and child care. To meet all of those needs, Barber and his team decided to pay double the minimum wage, provide transportation, offer flexible work hours that accommodate their family and refugee status requirements and serve as an advocate for respect and safety.</p>
<p>It’s no surprise that Prosperity Candle continues to be awarded with high B Corp honors as “Best for the World.” Of all of the social entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed, Barber may in fact be the most transparent, most unwilling to sacrifice mission goals, at any cost. </p>
<p>“Our highest priority is social impact. We are 49 percent profit driven and 51 percent mission driven. But this makes a huge difference. It guides every decision we make. In Haiti, for example, if something isn’t working, we don’t pull out because it's not profitable. We ask ourselves how can we stay and be sustainable,because our highest priority is our mission, lifting families out of poverty by supporting women entrepreneurs,” says Barber. </p>
<p>Candles are the market tool—and Prosperity Candle is no doubt an expert in candle making--but empowering women is the business goal. During our conversation, I realized that for Barber, the revenue stream was secondary. It could have just as easily been cannoli.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.prosperitycandle.com/collections/unique-gifts">Buy</a> a Prosperity Candle. <a href="http://prosperitycandle.com/apps/productbuilder/design-your-own-candle">Create</a> a custom design. <a href="http://prosperitycandle.com/pages/impact">Read</a> why Prosperity Candle empowers women.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/prosperity-candle">Prosperity Candle</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ted-barber">Ted Barber</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/prosperity-catalyst">Prosperity Catalyst</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/best-for-the-world-b-corp">Best for the World B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/benefit-corporation">Benefit Corporation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/refugees">refugees</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/female-entrepreneurship">female entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/iraq">Iraq</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/haiti">Haiti</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/certified-b-corp">Certified B Corp</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Monday, October 12, 2015 - 9:00am</span></div></div></div>Mon, 12 Oct 2015 14:44:25 +0000Julie Fahnestock74497 at http://justmeans.comThe Secret’s Out: B Corp Consulting is the Coolest Gig http://justmeans.com/blogs/the-secrets-out-b-corp-consulting-is-the-coolest-gig
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53e964bbe4b06d1a1e9be2ee/t/546ec356e4b039f6b8db361a/1416545111491/?format=750w" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;" /></p>
<p><strong><em>Ryan Honeyman and Conscious Brands Give the DL on How to “B” an All-Star Consultant : Part 1</em></strong><br /><br /><span style="">(Just Means and 3BL Media) - I just can’t get enough. In the best sense of the word, I’ve developed a fetish for the B Corp movement. And I’m not the only one. The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur and NPR, to name a few, can’t stop talking about how rapidly the “B the Change” business movement is growing. A global chorus of supporters are singing the profit, purpose tune. Why? Because B Corp folks are the happiest, most motivated and productive employees. Because we know the work we do, whether that be manufacturing hipster eyewear, supplying Vermont with Cow Power or offering banking services for a localized economy, creates a more meaningful ROI than a lonely profit margin. Across markets, people are connecting themselves to this life-giving movement in as many ways as they can.</span></p>
<p>But I think the people who work in the sweetest, most satisfying, space in the B Corp movement (dare I say the world…!) are B Corp consultants. My assumption is that they are privileged in learning the ins and outs of supply chains, human resource tools and hearing the awesome stories of leaders who are mission-minded. I imagine a B Corp consultant wears the hat of expert, cheerleader and storyteller. So, when I heard Amanda Hachey from Conscious Brands, a Canadian-based sustainability firm, and Ryan Honeyman, Author of <em>The B Corp Handbook</em> and CEO of Honeyman Consulting, were hosting a webinar series called the “Secrets of B Corp Consulting,” I thought, “I knew B Corp Consultants lived in a cool and mysterious world. They even have secrets!” I have to sign up! (Like I said, I can’t get enough.)</p>
<p>Together, five of us sustainability-driven professionals from the U.S. and Canada, many of whom are members of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) are diving headfirst into the world of B Corp consulting during the month of September. My cohort is impressive, to say the least. They have guided businesses in sustainability for many years and want to add the B Corp model to their toolkit. As my fellow participant, Mark Frieden explained, “The B Corp model is the platinum standard of sustainability certifications.” But B Corp consulting isn’t only for people who know the ins and outs of GRI, LEED or other reporting tools. Our first insider tip from “Secrets of B Corp Consulting” webinar with Hachey and Honeyman revealed this:</p>
<p>Secret #1: <strong>You don’t need to be an expert in sustainability to help businesses improve impact. </strong></p>
<p> “The great part about B Corp consulting, the value that the assessment brings, is that you don’t need a long, deep history of sustainable knowledge to help businesses be better. You can start wherever you are and be a great B Corp consultant,” says Honeyman.</p>
<p>Honeyman, in fact, earned his master’s degree in criminal justice. Even B Lab, says Honeyman, calls itself a lab because it isn’t pretending to know everything about sustainability. It’s an emerging movement, constantly iterating and open to feedback and co-creative improvements. So how then does a B Corp consultant claim high pay expertise if the B Corp world is ever changing? According to Hachey and Honeyman, it’s by creating value in building capacity and strategic thinking around sustainability.</p>
<p>Secret #2: <strong>Only helping to certify companies as B Corps is not going to pay your bills. </strong></p>
<p>It’s a foot in the door with a great company, but it’s only the beginning. Honeyman suggests offering value-added services like half day, company retreats to shape a core vision statement or a 10-year impact plan. The goal is to turn a one-off project into a monthly retainer so that the certification work for new companies can continue.</p>
<p>“30 percent of our work is actually certification,” says Hachey. “Many companies we worked with a few years ago in certification we are now helping with strategy between certification periods, resulting in projects like employee engagement, strategic sustainability planning, individual coaching and carbon counting identified during the assessment.”</p>
<p>Honeyman admits that in the early days of Honeyman Consulting he jumped from one company to the next, chasing certifications.</p>
<p>“One of the mistakes I made in the first couple of years was new certification, new certification, new certification. It doesn’t give you enough money to make it. Rather, it’s more about the new certification and asking, ‘how else do I add value to this company?’” says Honeyman.</p>
<p>To start thinking about creating value-added for real-time clients, our first homework assignment was to pitch the B Corp certification to a local company, i.e. our cohort acting and asking questions as the executive team. We each had two minutes to convince the “C- Suite” of the B Corp model. From breweries and coffee shops to luxury hotels and packaging companies, we led with strong arguments about increasing employee engagement, joining the B Corp tribe and formalizing commitments to reduce carbon outputs. It was great practice and I learned a lot from the framing of each pitch.</p>
<p>Next week’s homework is to reach out to our chosen company and offer to do their B Corp certification at little or no cost in exchange for testimonials about our service. Honeyman Consulting and Conscious Brands offered dozens of their templates for pricing models, proposals and outreach. These tools are very helpful and worth the cost of the course by themselves. But I already feel hung up on one major piece: the ROI of B Corp certification. Can I approach Palm Beach County’s most luxury hotel to pursue B Corp certification without knowing how they will see the benefits to their bottom line? How much, in dollars, can a midsized company expect to gain after spending a few thousand dollars to certify? How does a B Corp consultant pitch bottom line results? This secret, and many others, waits to be unveiled in the coming weeks of “Secrets of B Corp Consulting.” To be continued….</p>
<p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secrets-of-b-corp-consulting-4-part-webinar-series-tickets-17987376728">Sign up</a> for <a href="http://www.honeymanconsulting.com/secrets-of-b-corp-consulting/">Secrets of B Corp Consulting</a> for October and November. It’s exclusive, so <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/secrets-of-b-corp-consulting-4-part-webinar-series-tickets-17987376728">do it</a> now! Check the work of <a href="http://consciousbrands.com/">Conscious Brands</a> and <a href="http://www.honeymanconsulting.com/">Honeyman Consulting</a>. Order your copy of <a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com/go/b-corp-handbook">The B Corp Handbook.</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/b-corps-0">B Corps</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-lab">B Lab</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/conscious-brands">Conscious Brands</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-the-change">B the Change</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ryan-honeyman">Ryan Honeyman</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/the-b-corp-handbook">The B Corp Handbook</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/secrets-of-b-corps-consulting">Secrets of B Corps Consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-consulting">B Corp Consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/issp">ISSP</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/international-society-of-sustainability-professionals-certificate-in-sustainability">International Society of Sustainability Professionals; Certificate in Sustainability</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/adult-education-in-sustainability">adult education in sustainability</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainability-consulting">sustainability consulting</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/marsha-willard">Marsha Willard</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-food">Sustainable Food</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, September 18, 2015 - 1:30pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 18 Sep 2015 17:33:31 +0000Julie Fahnestock73875 at http://justmeans.comEntrepreneurship is (or Should Be) Gender Neutralhttp://justmeans.com/blogs/entrepreneurship-is-or-should-be-gender-neutral
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://careerbright.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/female-entreprneur.jpg" style="height: 400px; width: 600px;" /><br /><span style="">(3BL Media and Just Means)--I hate the term “female entrepreneurship.” We don’t call entrepreneurial endeavors led by men, “male entrepreneurship.” We just call it entrepreneurship. Unintentionally or not, “female entrepreneurship” implies a rare, or “wow, women can start and lead businesses? Really? Since when,” distinction. The gap widens as we separate the genders into distinct categories. I’m not the only one calling for us to crack the glass for equality on this ceiling.</span></p>
<p>Astia does, too. A San Fran-based nonprofit, Astia funds women-led ventures not because it’s trendy, but because the ventures are highly innovative and high performance. They know that in the last 20 years, because of increased access to higher education and changing views of gender roles around the globe, women are more empowered to launch their own businesses and own organizations with big products for big markets. Astia identifies the world’s top women leaders and connects them with angel investors for a shift of focus from our differences—a one percent biological difference—and social rules to a synergistic alliance among all business leaders.</p>
<p>In a 2014 white paper called <em>Investing in the Success of Women High-Growth Entrepreneurs, their Teams and their Ventures</em>, Astia makes this statement:</p>
<p>“We are not interested in the overgeneralized, decades‐long debate on how men and women intrinsically compare as a bifurcated set in terms of their business acumen and performance. We’re also not advocating a platform that companies should win investment because women are at the helm.”</p>
<p>Astia’s interests, however, are to identify companies who manage “their inclusivity quotient for high performance by engaging women and men at the top levels of high-growth organizations.” They estimate only 10,000 women “supernovas” exist and will reach their pinnacle in their business leadership by 2020.</p>
<p>“The emergence of a robust marketplace for female entrepreneurial talent allows us then to side-step all the debates and discriminatory practices (intentional or not) that seek to identify some inherent difference in business women and business men that will somehow create a reliable order in a messy, social system influenced by centuries of potent gender rules,” states Astia’s white paper.</p>
<p>It’s a theory backed by MIT research. Professor Thomas Malone says that smart teams consist of three components: The average of the social perceptiveness of the group members; the evenness of the conversational participation; the proportion of women in the group. He is quoted saying: “If a team includes more women, its collective intelligence rises.”</p>
<p>High-performance, impact-driven entrepreneurship is gender-neutral. The more women and men partner together the more we will grow our economy and solve the world’s most pressing problems—as entrepreneurs, as business leaders, working together in buildings where ceilings do not exist. </p>
<p>Check out <a href="http://startupowl.com/">Startup Owl </a>for more wisdom on entrepreneurship. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/startup-owl">Startup Owl</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/venture-founders">Venture Founders</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/will-keyser">Will Keyser</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/astia">Astia</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/investing-in-the-success-of-women-high-growth-entrepreneurs">Investing in the Success of Women High-Growth Entrepreneurs</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/their-teams-and-their-ventures">their Teams and their Ventures</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/professor-thomas-malone">Professor Thomas Malone</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/female-entrepreneurship">female entrepreneurship</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, August 20, 2015 - 3:30pm</span></div></div></div>Thu, 20 Aug 2015 19:43:05 +0000Julie Fahnestock73185 at http://justmeans.comOffice Depot Supports Green Business Challenge http://justmeans.com/blogs/office-depot-supports-green-business-challenge
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?mgid=271810&amp;vid=5" />(3BL Media and Just Means)- I love when sustainability professionals know their decisions are one part of a much larger story. Office Depot, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida operates with the next generation in mind.</p>
<p>“What do you want your story to be in the next six months? One year? Ten years?” asks Yalmaz Siddiqui, Senior Director of Environmental and Supplier Diversity Strategy at Office Depot.</p>
<p>As part of The Green Business Challenge, Siddiqui and his team spoke to a group of West Palm Beach, Florida business leaders about implementing sustainability. According to Siddiqui, green purchasing is the most powerful way a business can make impact and save money.</p>
<p>“We are all part of supply chains. We need to elevate the importance of green purchasing because the aggregate impact is much larger,” says Siddiqui.</p>
<p>Office Depot views green purchasing in “shades of green, depending on their environmental benefits relative to other products in their category.” Office Depot’s sustainability department has tracked and categorized every product into the Green Book, a green, buyer’s guide—no small feat for an office supply company with thousands of products. The Green Book segments products into light green, green and dark green categories. Environmental benefits are based on reduced waste, reduced energy and reduced chemical use for each product category. They are also marked for attributes like remanufactured, plant-based, carbon-balanced and chlorine-free among others. Third-party certifications for each product are also identified such as Forest Stewardship Council, BPI Certified Compostable and EPEAT. Participants of the Green Business Challenge in West Palm Beach received copies of Office Depot’s Green Book and were encouraged by Siddiqui to “make the switch” for their office purchasing.</p>
<p>West Palm Beach was chosen as one of four cities to receive a $20,000 grant for the Green Business Challenge. Founding organization, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, ICLEI, states that 78 businesses have saved $180,000 and reduced CO2 by 1,823 tons. For West Palm Beach, the purpose of the challenge is also about building a long-term vision for the city. Matt Ferrer, Sustainability Program Coordinator at the City of West Palm Beach, says the Green Business Challenge aims to bring traditional and nontraditional businesses together.</p>
<p>“We’re building a community to help move the city forward toward a more sustainable future,” says Ferrer.</p>
<p>Yes we are. And, I for one, am excited to be part of this story! Check out the <a href="http://icleiusa.org/programs/city-business/green-biz/">Green Business Challenge</a>. See what it looks like in <a href="http://wpb.org/sustainability/gbc/">West Palm Beach</a>. Green your supply chain with a free copy of Office Depot’s <a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/325865/The-Green-Book/">Green Book</a>. Check out their <a href="http://www.officedepot.com/a/guides/buygreen/buygreen/">GreenerOffice</a> site. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/green-business-challenge">Green Business Challenge</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/office-depot">Office Depot</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/office-depot-green-book">Office Depot Green Book</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/office-depot-green-buyers-guide">Office Depot Green Buyer&#039;s Guide</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/city-of-west-palm-beach-sustainability">City of West Palm Beach Sustainability</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/west-palm-beach-green-business-challenge">West Palm Beach Green Business Challenge</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/yalmaz-siddiqui">Yalmaz Siddiqui</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/international-council-for-local-environmental-initiatives">International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/iclei">ICLEI</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/matt-ferrer">Matt Ferrer</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainability-program-coordinator-at-the-city-of-west-palm-beach">Sustainability Program Coordinator at the City of West Palm Beach</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/forest-stewardship-council">Forest Stewardship Council</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/bpi-certified-compostable">BPI Certified Compostable</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/epeat">EPEAT</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/energy">Energy</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Monday, August 10, 2015 - 12:30pm</span></div></div></div>Mon, 10 Aug 2015 16:47:37 +0000Julie Fahnestock72941 at http://justmeans.comB Corp Amavida Runs Across Congo in Support of Gender Equality http://justmeans.com/blogs/b-corp-amavida-runs-across-congo-in-support-of-gender-equality
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/553fac50e4b0caccecbd4068/t/5550956be4b09fe6f8a07d77/1431344495653/appyMother's+Day!+(20).png?format=1000w" style="width: 940px; height: 788px;" />(3BL Media and Just Means) - Seven days, seven marathons. The Run Across Congo has created huge awareness for gender equality in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Women runners from around the U.S. gathered together along the shores of Lake Kivu to partner with and encourage female farmers. Run Across Congo was organized by On the Ground, a nonprofit committed to supporting sustainable community development in farming regions across the world. Awareness and funds raised from Run Across Congo will create programs to increase access to knowledge, land, income and health care that enables Congolese women to run their own businesses. It will also support Lemera Hospital, a hub for women who are the victims of sexual aggression.</p>
<p>Amavida Coffee &amp; Tea, one of the founding B Corps in Florida, supported the effort by sending their Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Outreach, Casey Tindell-Trejo, as a marathoner. Tindell-Trejo says the gender equality was very evident.</p>
<p>“We ran through many towns where women were hunched over, carrying 150 pounds of wood on their backs while the men sat around drinking beer. Women are treated like workhorses,” says Tindell-Trejo.</p>
<p>Though the men operate and administer the fair trade cooperatives, Congolese women are responsible for working in the fields. They often have children on their backs as they pick the coffee cherries. Women are also responsible for raising the children, cleaning and cooking. And, their voices are silenced.</p>
<p>“Any time we spoke to a woman, a man would come up behind her and whisper in her ear. But the room would get quiet any time a man spoke,” says Tindell-Trejo.</p>
<p>Through their direct trade relationship with coffee cooperatives in the DRC, Amavida helps to fund a gender equality, education program called the Gender Action Learning System. Tindell-Trejo says there was a very noticeable difference in the interactions between men and women who participated in this program.</p>
<p>“The men would move aside and allow their wives to speak for themselves. The women were more relaxed,” she says.</p>
<p>So what would compel a team of women to run through a nation where women are marginalized and oppressed?</p>
<p>“A women-only team of marathoners taking the risk of running through the DRC demonstrates that Congolese women desperately need our support. We took on this huge, crazy feat to show how much we care,” says Tindell-Trejo.</p>
<p>An immediate need is for supplies at the Lemera hospital. Rape victims walk several days through mountainous terrain with their children to receive medical attention. On the Ground is working to provide $5,000 in funding for the hospital. To raise ongoing support, Amavida implemented a wooden coin campaign in their cafes. Every time a customer brings in a reusable mug, they are given a wooden coin that represents a 20-cent donation from Amavida to Project Congo. Last month, Amavida donated $300. For them, it’s a win-win for both their environmental and social goals. They continually look for ways to deepen their impact.</p>
<p>“We meet every Monday morning as a team to discuss how we can improve our social and environmental impact. Our Benefit Director is constantly trying to partner with other B Corps and grow a stronger network of them in Florida,” says Tindell-Trejo.</p>
<p>Giving back to the local community of Santa Rosa Beach and to their coffee cooperatives is part of Amavida’s DNA. They were founded on the circular model of coffee buying.</p>
<p>“We buy at fair trade prices, continue improving our knowledge and craft to be able to provide the best coffee in the industry, give back to our community and then complete the circle by finding more ways to support our farmers. The cycle should never end, and should create partnerships that always build upon each other,” described Tindell-Trejo in an April interview.</p>
<p>Amavida Coffee and Tea is leading the B Corp movement in Florida’s panhandle. Their dedication to local and global impact is impressive. It’s also the B Corp way. I, for one, can’t wait to get my favorite mug filled up with their freshly roasted coffee from their Congo cooperative. And of course, drop my wooden coin into their donation bucket. Cheers to you Amavida for “loving life with every cup.”</p>
<p>Source Amavida coffee by the <a href="https://amavida.com/store/">pound</a> or <a href="https://amavida.com/florida-wholesale-coffee-roasters/">wholesale.</a> Donate to <a href="http://onthegroundglobal.org/project-congo/">Project Congo</a> via <a href="http://onthegroundglobal.org/">On the Ground.</a></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/run-across-congo">Run Across Congo</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/congo">Congo</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/on-the-ground">On the Ground</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/on-the-ground-global">On the Ground Global</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/amavida-coffee-and-tea">Amavida Coffee and Tea</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/amavida">Amavida</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/amavida-coffee-shop">Amavida Coffee shop</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/coffee-shop-santa-rosa-beach">coffee shop Santa Rosa Beach</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp">B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-florida">B Corp Florida</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/b-corp-panhandle-of-florida">B Corp Panhandle of Florida</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/florida-b-corp">Florida B Corp</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/casey-tindell-trejo">Casey Tindell-Trejo</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/chris-treter">Chris Treter</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/lake-kivu">Lake Kivu</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/lemera-hospital">Lemera Hospital</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/gender-equality-congo">gender equality Congo</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/gender-equality-drc">gender equality DRC</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/energy">Energy</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/health">Health</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/travel">Travel</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Friday, July 24, 2015 - 12:00pm</span></div></div></div>Fri, 24 Jul 2015 16:10:54 +0000Julie Fahnestock72591 at http://justmeans.comTimberland Addresses Climate Change at International Scientific Conference http://justmeans.com/blogs/timberland-addresses-climate-change-at-international-scientific-conference
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style=""><img alt="" src="http://www.rubbernews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/storyimage/RN/20141105/NEWS/141109982/AR/0/AR-141109982.jpg&amp;cci_ts=20141105113053&amp;ExactW=320" style="width: 500px; height: 391px;" /><br />(3BL Media and Just Means)- Last week in Paris, the International Scientific Conference, “Our Common Future under Climate Change,” brought together social enterprises, government agencies and the scientific community. Presented in partnership with the French government and Project Labeled COP21, as well as many other European sponsors such as Future Earth, UNESCO, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the United Nations Foundation, the purpose of the conference was solutions-focused. Building on the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report, the conference addressed key issues concerning climate change in the broader context of global change; solutions were proposed for both mitigation and adaptation issues.</span></p>
<p>Representing the social enterprise movement, Timberland’s Sustainability Director, Colleen Vien, joined industry leaders on a panel led by Eileen McNeely of Harvard School of Public Health to discuss what businesses can do as “good actors” to cut their environmental footprint. According to Vien, businesses need to ask how they can make smarter choices and assess what they are doing to mitigate or offset their impact.</p>
<p>“For Timberland, this means minimizing our impact at every touch point: from the way we build our stores and design our products, to the materials and resources we use, to the way we analyze the life cycle of our products,” says Vien.</p>
<p>Making the effort to join the cross-sector conversation is crucial for businesses to stay accountable to the science and regulatory strategies of climate change. Timberland purposefully budgets for conferences like “Our Common Future under Climate Change” because they know the expertise and critiques of climate change leaders are essential to make the most effective changes. NGOs, academics, issue experts, investors, and advocacy organizations inform them in their comprehensive CSR and climate change strategies. Timberland’s goal is to reduce their global energy demand by two percent year over year while also increasing their use of renewable energy two percent year over year.</p>
<p>“Our partners and critics offer expertise on climate science, peer benchmarking, and best practices for reducing emissions. They also provide feedback and issue challenges to help us set targets and credibly invest in reducing our footprint and increasing our positive impacts,” says Vien.</p>
<p>However, Timberland isn’t buying it that businesses are the only players responsible for causing climate change or the only stakeholders responsible to clean up the mess we’ve created. Vien says that with a little help from the public sector, the private sector could more actively scale their progress; incentives, better education and funding are crucial.</p>
<p>“Businesses need better and more actionable information on climate change impacts. Climate change data with its complexity and levels of long-term uncertainty can be difficult for businesses to incorporate into their business plans. Additionally, while more and more companies are investing in making their operations less resource intensive, many small and medium enterprises are unable to do so due to lack of resources or expertise. There’s great opportunity here for the public sector to work proactively with businesses to plan and secure funds that are directed for action,” says Vien.</p>
<p>Examples of Timberland’s cross-sector partnership is demonstrated in the Timberland and Omni United tire collaboration. Automobile tires are specifically designed to be recycled at end of their life on the road into Timberland outsoles. This partnership makes sense. It’s authentic and ties into their brand. What I love most about Timberland is how they’ve owned environmental responsibility as part of their overall brand. After all, their vision is to be the largest, most sustainable outdoor lifestyle brand on Earth. Vien says they have an unwavering responsibility to care for the environment. And doing good and doing well, go hand-in-hand; neither profit nor positive impact need to be sacrificed as a result of one another.</p>
<p>“The more successful you are, the more good you can do. And the more good you do, the more people want to do business with you. Every day, we seek new ways to improve our products, strengthen our relationships with stakeholders, and enhance the communities where we live and work. It means taking actions that enable us to be stewards of the earth. Sometimes it’s a small measure of goodness, like restoring a small green space in our local community. Other times it’s a revolutionary breakthrough in product technology, perhaps finding a more sustainable way to craft our shoes. At the end of the day, we seek to demonstrate a model of commerce and justice – of superior returns to shareholders, achieved sustainably, with respect to society and the environment,” says Vien.</p>
<p>Learn more about the vision of the <a href="http://www.commonfuture-paris2015.org/The-Conference/Conference-Vision.htm">Our Common Future under Climate Change</a> conference. Read the <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/" target="_blank">IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5)</a>. Check out <a href="https://www.timberlandtires.com/">Timberland and Tires.</a> Read about how <a href="http://www.justmeans.com/blogs/how-planting-trees-in-haiti-put-kids-in-school-the-timberland-story">Timberland planted trees in Haiti</a> and as a result, put children in school. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/timberland">Timberland</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/our-common-future-under-climate-change">Our Common Future Under Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/timberland-and-tires">Timberland and Tires</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/timberland-plants-trees">Timberland plants trees</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ipcc-5th-assessment-report">IPCC 5th Assessment Report</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/international-scientific-conference">International Scientific Conference</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/future-earth">Future Earth</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/unesco">UNESCO</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/un-foundation">UN Foundation</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/colleen-vien">Colleen Vien</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/timberlands-sustainability-director">Timberland&#039;s Sustainability Director</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/eileen-mcneely-at-harvard-school-of-public-health">Eileen McNeely at Harvard School of Public Health</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a> • <a href="/blog/category/technology">Technology</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Thursday, July 16, 2015 - 8:30am</span></div></div></div>Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:39:26 +0000Julie Fahnestock72393 at http://justmeans.comHow Global Trade Agreements Undermine Sustainable Business: The American Sustainable Business Council Perspectivehttp://justmeans.com/blogs/how-global-trade-agreements-undermine-sustainable-business-the-american-sustainable-business
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style=""><img alt="" src="http://corporateeurope.org/sites/default/files/we-the-corporations.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 300px;" /><br />(3BL Media and Just Means) - The Trans-Pacific Agreement (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TIPP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), will “reshape the global economy,” according to The Guardian. Ongoing negotiations between the U.S., the European Union and 23 other countries on these agreements work hand-in-hand, but according to Forbes, it’s TISA that potentially has a much greater impact because services now account for more than 80 percent of U.S. and EU economies. It’s hard to tell, though, because the negotiations are being conducted in top secrecy. (Thank you, WikiLeaks—without you, we would have </span><em style="">no</em><span style=""> idea of what the world’s governments and corporations have been talking about.)To better understand the consequences of TISA and the recently passed “Fast Track” legislation, I reached out to the American Sustainable Business Council for their perspective.</span></p>
<p><span style="">The ASBC serves the business community and a sustainable economy by advocating for legislation; by providing a platform for policy makers to engage with business professionals; by conducting and commissioning research on sustainability-related issues; and by educating members and external stakeholders how the triple bottom line is good for business. Since 2008, the ASBC has been following the TIPP, TPP and TISA negotiations, offering insights and a call-to-action.</span></p>
<p><span style="">On their website, the ASBC explains that the point of greatest concern in the agreements is the proposal to allow corporations to sue governments in an international tribunal. This grants multinationals the power to protest environmental and labor standards. David Brodwin, Vice President and Co-Founder of ASBC, says ultimately, these negotiations will favor MNCs who are at the negotiation tables with the world’s top government leaders. The potential consequences? Corporate control and weakened regulations for service industries, a.k.a. most of our economy. Brodwin lays out five foreseeable implications of the current negotiations for companies committed to doing business sustainably: </span></p>
<p>1.) Innovative companies that come up with cleaner, greener, safer ways to do things often depend on rules that require safety hazards to be disclosed (at a minimum) so that consumers can vote with their dollars. For example, a new bank that built its financial model on safe and responsible lending would want the government to require disclosure of true interest rates and fees on all lending documents. TISA could allow unscrupulous lenders to overturn these disclosure requirements.</p>
<p>2.) Governments have a vested interest in locally based economic development because that is more efficient for job creation, and the benefits are more durable and more fairly distributed. Some governments establish contracting preferences to give a slight edge to locally owned and independently operated businesses. TISA could allow non-local vendors to overturn these preferences.</p>
<p>3.) Governments have a major interest in maintaining the stability of financial markets, protecting against asset bubbles like the tech bubble of 2000-2002, the mortgage bubble of 2008, and the Asian currency collapse of 1998. The main tools they use are regulations. TISA may hobble the ability of governments to maintain stable financial markets.</p>
<p>4.) Governments differ in the extent to which confidential data be protected. Under TISA, international communications firms will likely be able to overturn these standards.</p>
<p>5.) Governments are deeply involved in health care services to ensure that their residents have access to affordable care. TISA could limit governments’ abilities to structure national health care systems to meet the needs of their citizens.</p>
<p>Is it just me, or does this seem like the opposite of democracy? With the double wins of marriage equality and saying adios to the confederate flag in South Carolina in the last few weeks, I’ve been feeling very patriotic. In understanding better these negotiations, my patriotism has been adulterated. Where does President Obama stand? Verbally, Obama supports small business, environmental regulation and fair labor standards. I have two words for his verbal support: moot point. Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Obama. In collaboration with the Republican Party, Obama fast tracked the agreements to the Senate. From what we know about the trade negotiations, they have the potential to eliminate incentives for countries that take ownership of their environmental and social externalities; there will be no encouragement for companies to take the “higher road,” as Brodwin puts it. </p>
<p>“The United States could say that if “Country X” also has workplace standards, there will be no tariff on importing goods from Country X into the U.S. But if another country, let’s say, “Country Y,” does not have similar standards, then there would be a 10% tariff on goods from Country Y. A club of sorts could be established—let’s call it the “High Road Club.” All members of the Club pledge to ‘high road’ practices, and then all of them eliminate tariffs on each other’s products. That protects workers and consumers in all the countries that belong to the club and encourages the rest of the world to adopt higher standards. Under TPP and TISA, a club like this would not be allowed,” explains Brodwin.</p>
<p><span style="">So what can we do as sustainable business leaders? Support local businesses and get politically involved.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“We can pressure our elected representatives to make sure that the treaty which emerges from all the secret backroom discussions is actually a good one for America as a whole, not just a few big players who dominate the discussion,” says Brodwin.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://asbcouncil.org/about-us#.VaOnv_lVhBc" style="">Read</a><span style=""> about the important advocacy of the American Sustainable Business Council. </span><a href="http://asbcouncil.org/action-center/campaigns/support-sustainable-tpp#.VaOqTvlVhBc" style="">Here’s</a><span style=""> what the ASBC says about the TPP, TIPP and TISA agreements. </span><a href="http://asbcouncil.org/action-center/campaigns/support-sustainable-tpp#.VaOqTvlVhBc" style="">Put your name</a><span style=""> on the petition to President Obama, asking him to stick to his word and stand up for small businesses.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Sources: Forbes, Guardian, ASBC. </span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/tipp">TIPP</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/tpp">TPP</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/tisa">TISA</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/asbc">ASBC</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/american-sustainable-business-council">american sustainable business council</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/secret-trade-negotiations">secret trade negotiations</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/david-brodwin">David Brodwin</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/vice-president-and-co-founder-of-asbc">Vice President and Co-Founder of ASBC</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/fast-track-trade-agreements">fast track trade agreements</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/obama-fast-track">Obama Fast Track</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/obama-tpp">Obama TPP</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/corporations-as-people">corporations as people</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/practitioner-updates">Practitioner Updates</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - 9:00am</span></div></div></div>Tue, 14 Jul 2015 13:21:03 +0000Julie Fahnestock72328 at http://justmeans.comWhich Type of Sustainability Superhero Are You?http://justmeans.com/blogs/which-type-of-sustainability-superhero-are-you
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="photo credit: Terra Infirma" src="http://www.terrainfirma.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/green-superhero.jpg" style="width: 426px; height: 282px;" /><br />(photo credit: Terra Infirma)</p>
<p>(3BL Media and Just Means) - It is not often I think Hollywood does much right. But in terms of making money, they know exactly how to capture the 30-something audience with remakes of superhero movies. My husband, for example, can’t get enough. While reminiscing over the untold tales deep within his comic book collection, he maps out a plan for every upcoming IMAX, 3D superhero experience. Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Dark Knight. It doesn’t matter if it’s Marvel or DC, if a superhero movie is in the making, my husband is stocking up on Raisenettes. I told him to get ready because the next blockbuster is on its way and it features a whole new breed of superheroes: sustainability superheroes.</p>
<p>In his newly released book, <em>Sustainable Frontiers,</em> Wayne Visser, Vice President of Sustainability Services at Omnex and Director of publishing company Kaleidoscope Futures, presents eight keys to “unlocking transformational change through business, leadership and innovation.” It’s an easy and engaging read and I highly recommend it, particularly for anyone working within an organization who may be having a hard time grasping the importance of sustainable operations. Visser goes beyond corporate social responsibility and explains why, despite reporting mechanisms and accountability metrics, change relies on bold leaders. </p>
<p>However, having read dozens of books on leadership during my MBA in Managing for Sustainability, I wasn’t expecting Visser to say anything new. But then I turned to the section on Sustainability Superheroes. This phrase caught my attention. Deep down, don’t all of us in this movement want to be considered a superhero? Could superhero also be synonymous with the trendy title “change agent?” Regardless, it’s constantly a challenge for me and many of us who have devoted our careers to sustainability to feel like we are making enough change. I’m continually assessing whether or not I should move into a different career in order to make a bigger impact. Why do we choose careers in sustainability in the first place? Can we solve the most pressing problems like food and water crises, pollution, climate change and human trafficking by confidently wearing our unique, sustainability superhero capes?</p>
<p>Visser says yes. Unlocking change is not only about what we do, but about “tapping into our own power.” According to Visser, we “do” sustainability because of six main motivators; the first being that it gives us purpose-filled lives. Other influencers include the thrill of solving a new challenge, creating new strategies and empowering others. He categorizes these drivers into four archetypes of sustainability superheroes or the Fantastic Four: Expert; Facilitator; Catalyst; Activist. </p>
<p>Experts have a copious understanding of one specific problem. They approach it from a technical or scientific angle, and are satisfied from constant learning and self-development. A modern-day sustainability expert superhero, according to Visser, is someone like Siyabulela Lethuxolo Xuza, the NASA-decorated South African rocket scientist working on solar energy, or Mathis Wackernagel, founder of the Global Footprint Network.</p>
<p>Facilitators, however, use their knowledge to empower others to make change. “Facilitators are often people without a high profile,” says Visser. “Elle Carberry, Co-Founder &amp; Managing Director of China Greentech Initiative and Roberto Salazar, founder of the Hexagon Dialogue Toolkit in Ecuador, are two examples.”</p>
<p>Catalysts, like Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, or Pope Francis, have a vision for shifting an organization in a new direction. They are pragmatic, make the business case for sustainability and use their political skills to persuade others to change strategies.</p>
<p><span style="">Activists, on the other hand, use their strong feelings about justice to question the status quo and challenge others to a more idealistic vision of the future. Burmese political activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, or Boyan Slat, inventor of the Ocean Cleanup Array, represent Sustainability Activist Heroes.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“Among big corporates, activists are typically in short supply, because they ask difficult questions, rock the boat and get frustrated at the pace of change,” says Visser.</span></p>
<p><span style="">Though there are no formal examples of the Expert, Facilitator, Catalyst or Activist working as the Fantastic Four, Visser says these archetypes are collaborating through cross-sector platforms like the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on climate change, or the Natural Capital Leaders Platform run by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.</span></p>
<p><span style="">“It’s a PhD waiting to happen,” says Visser.</span></p>
<p>Visser knew he was a Sustainability Superhero in 1990 when he attended a conference in Japan organized by the international economics and commerce students’ organization, AIESEC, on global business and sustainable development. The purpose of the conference was to capture the voices of young leaders as input to the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.</p>
<p>“It was when I realized not only that ‘Houston, we have a problem,’ but that it was up to us, as the ‘next generation’ to solve that problem,” says Visser.</p>
<p>Though Visser has worn all four superhero capes at various points in his sustainability career, he views himself first and foremost as an Expert.</p>
<p>“What motivates me at a deep level is to learn continuously and to share that learning with others. Maybe the byline of my bio gives a clue: "a professional idea-monger, storyteller and meme-weaver,” says Visser.</p>
<p>Visser affirms the quandary I ponder every day: Am I making enough change? Is it up to me to adapt my skill set in order to meet the pressing needs of the world? Will I find deeper satisfaction if I wear a different, less-tailored, cape? No. Visser emboldens us to be who we are because it’s the most effective way to “do” sustainability.</p>
<p>“If we each recognize our type, and play to its strengths, we will be more effective as change agents. If we find others that complement us—ideally making up the Fantastic Four—that makes for a kick-ass dream team for transformational change” says Visser.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/content/Introduction_Frontiers.pdf">Read the intro</a> from <em>Sustainable Frontiers. </em><a href="http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=4092">Order it</a> from Greenleaf Publishing. <a href="http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/1586-wayne-visser-sustainable-frontiers-unlocking-change-through-business-leadership-and-innovation-greenleaf-publishing-2015">Read a review</a> by Eduardo Sasso on CSRwire Talkback. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/tag/wayne-visser">wayne visser</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainable-frontiers">Sustainable Frontiers</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/aung-san-suu-kyi">Aung San Suu Kyi</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/boyan-slatocean-cleanup-array">Boyan SlatOcean Cleanup Array</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/elle-carberry">Elle Carberry</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/co-founder-managing-director-of-china-greentech-initiative">Co-Founder &amp; Managing Director of China Greentech Initiative</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/roberto-salazar">Roberto Salazar</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/founder-of-the-hexagon-dialogue-toolkit-in-ecuador">founder of the Hexagon Dialogue Toolkit in Ecuador</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/natural-capital-leaders-platform">Natural Capital Leaders Platform</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/university-of-cambridge-institute-for-sustainability-leadership-greenleaf-publishing">University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Greenleaf Publishing</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/earth-summit">Earth Summit</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/aiesec">AIESEC</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/sustainability-heroes">sustainability heroes</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/jeffrey-immelt">Jeffrey Immelt</a> • <a href="/blog/tag/ceo-of-general-electric">CEO of General Electric</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/category/corporate-social-responsibility">Corporate Social Responsibility</a> • <a href="/blog/category/education">Education</a> • <a href="/blog/category/environment-and-climate-change">Environment and Climate Change</a> • <a href="/blog/category/ethical-consumption">Ethical Consumption</a> • <a href="/blog/category/responsible-careers">Responsible Careers</a> • <a href="/blog/category/social-innovation-and-entrepreneurship">Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a> • <a href="/blog/category/sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-fmr-date-time field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - 12:00pm</span></div></div></div>Wed, 08 Jul 2015 16:20:20 +0000Julie Fahnestock72189 at http://justmeans.com